


Look at ya!

by YingCas



Series: I'm looking for myself (in you) [3]
Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Angst, Come and see, Coming of Age, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I've never done a story like this so please forgive me, Junjun is cute, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mpreg, See? I'm trying very hard not to spoil the first two parts here as well, Smut, but it's not too cheesy don't worry, but it's not too graphic, but this is going to be the last part I promise, did you think the story was over?, family stuff, far from it, finding yourself, i have a lot in store for you guys, ill add tags as i go, markhyck are the cutest couple everrrr, some mystery too, there's some blood nd stuff for obvious reasons, yes I'll keep that as a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:29:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28898175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YingCas/pseuds/YingCas
Summary: “You know how they say that you never truly grow up before someone else becomes more important than you.”Donghyuck had thought that he knew the meaning of family. But, as it so often happened, life proved him wrong once again.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: I'm looking for myself (in you) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770679
Comments: 52
Kudos: 114





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost: This is the THIRD PART of a series! If you haven’t yet, I’d suggest reading Found Ya! And Got Ya! first because otherwise, you will be a bit confused as well as spoiled. This is a story about finding oneself and learning the meaning of family and love. 
> 
> The story starts in 2020  
> But in this reality, the evil C disease does not exist because I’m so sick and tired of it and don’t want it here. 
> 
> Alright, so. I already had four unfinished stories on Ao3, and now, I have five. I know, idiotic, I should focus on one thing at a time but I just can’t. I had to get this one out. Sorry lol.
> 
> Maybe it’s my current life situation with my unstable love life or something but this story became my escape and I enjoyed writing it way too much. This series doesn’t necessarily need the third part, but I saw a chance to write some family fluff so I took it and I’m not sorry at all. There were some things that I could still look deeper into, so, why not? Basically, this story will contain quite a lot of mature stuff, balanced out with fluff and mystery - we’re always looking for something in these stories, so of course, that’s what we’re doing here as well. But it’s going to be slightly different, you’ll see...
> 
> I’ve spent so much time researching these themes on the internet that I’m pretty sure that Google thinks I’m pregnant now. Oh well. As long as I remember to delete my search history before borrowing my laptop to my mom, I should be alright.
> 
> Let’s go then, shall we?

_“Appa?”_

_Donghyuck turned to look at the door, where he saw him standing, looking a bit uneasy._

_“Yes?”_

_“Why did you never tell me the reason why dad left?”_

_Donghyuck almost dropped the saucepan he had been holding. He placed it back on the stove and just turned off the heat._

_“I did tell you”, Donghyuck said, his back towards him. “Our marriage didn’t work out, and he found someone else he was happier with. That happens often”_

_“No”, the child said, and Donghyuck had to turn back around. He looked troubled, fumbling, but with some darkness in his eyes that Donghyuck didn’t recognize. He had always been such a happy kid, or, well, mostly. “Why didn’t you tell me it was because of you?”_

_“It wasn’t because of me, it was both of our faults”, Donghyuck tried to keep his voice steady, but the child in the doorway just kept shaking his head._

_“Dad did everything for you”, the child said as he kept shaking his head. “Everything. And still, you failed him.”_

_“Who gave you such ideas?” Donghyuck felt both confused and mad. These were not words that belonged to the mouth of a ten-year-old. Donghyuck took a step towards him but the child backed away, as though he was scared of him. “Who did you talk to? Tell me.”_

_“I didn’t need to talk to anyone”, the fear suddenly seemed to vanish from his body, and instead, he tensed. He looked up, his eyes so full of anger and tears that Donghyuck felt his heart drop. “It’s written all over you, it’s always been! Dad left because you were selfish, immature, an incomplete mate who could never be trusted”_

_“Watch your mouth young man!” Donghyuck couldn’t be calm, the always understanding parent that he had hoped to be. Donghyuck raised his voice. “These things are too complex for you to understand!”_

_“It’s your fault that I have no father!” He screamed, his tears pooling in his tiny hands as he hid his face. “It’s your fault that I’m growing up broken!”_

_“I gave you everything I could!” Donghyuck raised his voice even more, and he hated it. He hated everything. He just wanted to hug his child and assure him that it would be alright, but he didn’t know it for sure - the child was ANGRY, how could Donghyuck do that? How could he do anything alone? He could never be enough on his own, he could never be enough for anyone at all. “I always tried my best. Why can’t that be enough?”_

_The child finally looked up. And what Donghyuck saw was… was… darkness. So much darkness. And it was all his fault. He had failed._

_“Did you ever stop to think”, the child's eyes were burning, the darkness kept spreading and Donghyuck felt like he was being choked. “That maybe I didn’t want to be BORN”_

...

Donghyuck gasped awake and it took him a few seconds to understand where he was. White walls, white bedsheets, the smell of chemicals as well as the one of spring, blowing in through the half-opened window.

Hospital. 

The light movement sent waves of pain through his stomach and back, a pain so familiar to him that he had gotten accustomed to it. But he still couldn’t help but grimace a little.

“Hey”, Mark’s quiet voice greeted him as he shut the door behind him. “Did I wake you up?”

“No”, Donghyuck blinked his eyes open properly and yawned. “Or maybe you did. But it’s fine, I wasn’t having a good dream anyway”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No”, Donghyuck shook his head and looked at what the alpha was holding. “What’s that?”

“This was waiting for you outside”, Mark said softly as he walked to him. He was holding a huge bouquet. Donghyuck furrowed his brows. 

“Outside? Since when have flower senders been allowed in hospitals?”

“I don’t know”, Mark admitted and handed the flowers over. Donghyuck took them and eyed them. He didn’t know much about flowers, but he recognized this type - tulips. A few different pastel shades wrapped neatly into a colorful, joyful arrangement. 

There was a folded, small card in the middle of the flowers as well. On top, it read _omega Lee_ on it - obviously meaning him. Although in marriage, Korean spouses didn’t change their names, the families were often referred to with the last name of the husband, the head of the family, alpha. It was just a coincidence that Donghyuck and Mark happened to share the same last name. It would have been scandalous in ancient times, but it no longer mattered.

Donghyuck picked the card up and opened it.

“What does it say?” Mark asked as he sat on the bed next to him. Donghyuck read the words over and over but didn’t exactly know what to make of them.

 _“Congratulations on your little family, Lee Haechan”,_ he read out loud for Mark to hear. _“I'm looking forward to meeting you. Remember your place._ No signature”

"I don’t like the way that sounds”, Mark mumbled and took the card from Donghyuck’s hands, to inspect it himself. He looked through both sides but there was nothing else. Donghyuck felt chills run down his spine, and the little color on his face escaped like it did from autumn leaves - it hid from the upcoming cold winds.

“Did you see who left them?” he asked, and Mark shook his head.

“They were outside when I returned”

He handed the card back and Donghyuck stuck it down the bouquet, hidden from sight. Something about this particular gift made him feel extremely uneasy. He hadn’t shared his birth name, Haechan, with many people - it wasn’t exactly a secret, but not public information either. He couldn’t remember if it had come up while he had been looking for his alpha father. Maybe. Baekhyun could have shared the information in his letter. And in Korea, it was known only by Donghyuck’s closest friends.

Were these flowers from the Wu family? That was all that Donghyuck could come up with, his birth name wasn’t in any official records, and he couldn’t picture anyone else reminding him of _his place_ with unsigned flower delivery. The precious image of the stupid company was familiar to him and he already didn’t want to have anything to do with it.

_Remember your place._

Donghyuck knew his place. He had cut all contact with his alpha father months ago when he had finally had to announce his pregnancy to his relatives as it had become impossible to hide. So, he had given his alpha father a call - one that he had intended to be the final one between them.

 _“I’m sorry”,_ he had said on the phone _. “I am going to raise my child away from the business environment. I do not need your assistance, and I am not going to introduce my child to such an unstable world of chicanery and danger. I do not wish to have anything to do with it”_

Still, getting rid of him had been difficult. The alpha had still sent him generous amounts of money to support his new family, but other than that, he had cut the contact to a minimum as well. Mostly. He understood Donghyuck’s stance, and he understood his own - their image as a happy, pure family corporation was in danger because of Donghyuck.

The _bastard child_ who was now having children of his own, obviously siring them out of wedlock, while he was still internationally a teenager and didn’t have a proper college education yet. What a disaster, what a potentially delicious news story. Kris was basically a celebrity in the Chinese business world, and those people in their polished shoes and dark suits enjoyed harmful gossip even more than a regular person. The business was fragile, and the competition fierce.

So, yeah, no thanks. Donghyuck didn’t need any extra reminders to stay out of that.

Someone knocked on the door of his room, and Donghyuck called them in.

“Hey, look who’s awake”, Jaemin babbled to the child in his arms as he stepped in. Renjun was holding the door open for him, and Donghyuck smiled a little at the sight. “Did you sleep well?”

“As well as I could, yes, thank you”, he reached out and Jaemin gave him back his child. His friends had come over like they had the day before, and they had taken the child for a small walk so that Donghyuck could take a short nap. Physically he was… average, as a male omega some wounds and ripping couldn’t be avoided but he was healing alright. It was just... staying awake with his newborn after 20 hours of labor had drained him out.

So, thank god he had friends like these.

“Move your ass alpha”, Jaemin kindly suggested and took Mark’s place on the bed. Donghyuck held the child in his arms and looked into his big, wondering eyes that he had inherited from the omega line of his family tree. He didn’t look tired, which was a big plus, because a tired baby usually always meant a screaming baby in the near future.

Donghyuck had only two days of experience as a parent but he had learned some things right away. 

“Did you have fun with uncle Jaemin and Renjun?” he asked quietly, all of his concentration set on the tiny human in his arms - that was something that tended to happen whenever the baby was handed to him. It had happened the very first time, and it surely happened now. The child had been able to evaporate all of his blinding pain, so, erasing the boring hospital room around them wasn’t a big deal at all. “Did you go outside, to see the garden?”

“You bet we did”, Jaemin answered instead. “We went out to see the cherry blossoms and he loved them!”

“He was also fussed over by a bunch of aunties in the garden”, Renjun huffed and sat next to Jaemin. “I’ve never understood what they see in newborn babies. They usually look like raisins”

“Hey!” Donghyuck kicked him through the blanket, careful not to move too much and disturb his content child. “Watch your mouth, you’re talking about my child here!”

“Calm down, I said _usually!_ ” Renjun complained but couldn’t return the kick with a chokehold or anything of sorts anymore. He just lightly slapped Donghyuck’s foot. “This one is really not that bad”

“He was born at the perfect time, the weather is just starting to get warm”, Jaemin sighed with a smile. “Oh, by the way, Jeno called. He is still fighting for his weekend holiday!”

“Do you think he has a chance?” Donghyuck asked. The head-people (Donghyuck didn’t remember military terms and he didn’t want to learn) of Jeno’s military base had been such assholes with his holidays, Jeno had rarely gotten off on the days he had requested. So, this one… didn’t seem like an exception.

“Yes, I do!” Jaemin nodded, his eyes filled with hope. As always. “Jeno has been at the top of his class in shooting and physical tasks, and he has a birthday coming up. I’m pretty sure that he is trying to play the uncle card as well. If that doesn’t grant him a free weekend, then nothing will!”

“Ah, right, his birthday is in two days”, Donghyuck nodded. It wasn’t like he had forgotten all about it but… his own child had been born on the 19th. He had had other things to worry about the past few days. And he would have other things to worry about in the future too. Lots of them.

”Let’s hope he gets here, so we have extra hands ready when you get out of the hospital!”

Donghyuck grimaced.

“I do not want it to end up as it did with Jungwoo and Dongyoung”

“I don’t think you can avoid it, I’m afraid”, Renjun mumbled, and Donghyuck knew he was right.

He had wanted to be lowkey. About everything. But having the friends that he did, the relatives that he, _they_ did, didn’t make it easy. The day (or two days) of his labor, he had luckily been able to spend with just Mark and the nurses, but right after…

Renjun and Jaemin had come over, which was nice, he didn’t complain at all. His own parents had also come, as well as his sisters. Then, Jungwoo and Dongyoung had come over to support him, followed by Jaemin’s parents who, apparently, had every right to see the new child like everyone else in his family. Because they were his family too, period. Jaemin and Jungwoo’s omega father had brought him chocolate and he had held the baby and sung to him so happily, Donghyuck had been thankful for them despite them making his hospital visit wilder.

Then, Jisung and Chenle. Jisung had been weirded out by the child but Chenle had laughed at him and held him steadily. Mark’s aunt, Yoona, had also visited them and brought flowers and a bright pink teddy bear that the baby had taken a liking to. Shotaro and Sungchan had also come over - Donghyuck had befriended them, unexpectedly, and they had brought balloons so that was nice.

But it was more so the people who were still _going to_ come that made Donghyuck nervous. Baekhyun couldn’t exactly ditch work and fly across the globe for this - he was a responsible adult and also, tickets were expensive as hell - but he was planning to come as soon as he could when his work let him. Baekhyun was the easiest of them all to handle, Donghyuck knew it.

Because then there were… Mark’s relatives. Mark’s _parents_. They were going to fly to Korea in two weeks, which had been planned a while back when the due date had become clearer. They hadn’t been able to attend their wedding (which had been basically just an extended family dinner so they had missed nothing big there) so they were definitely going to come to the baptism celebration. 

Mark rarely talked about his parents. Donghyuck had had to pressure him into talking about them, but he still didn’t know what to expect. He had heard Mark talking to them on the phone, and he had said hi to them a few times too but still. Still. He couldn’t understand the relationship that Mark had with his family. At all.

Maybe it was because his own relationship with his family was so close, he couldn’t imagine living like Mark. Mark treated Johnny and Jaehyun like he would his brothers and the alpha had befriended Donghyuck’s friends even better than he had expected him to so it wasn’t like he was cold, but with his blood relatives… He seemed to be different with them.

“You’re going to meet Jeno”, Donghyuck said to the child in his arms, who kept blinking up at him and taking his breath away, melting his heart. “Uncle Jeno is a soldier now. But he is very soft - he will spoil you once he comes back, I’m sure. You’re going to love him”

“Uncle, huh”, Renjun wondered out loud. “It’s going to take me a long time, to get used to being called an uncle”

“Ain’t that the truth”, Jaemin sighed. “Makes me feel so old”

 _Well, at least you’re not called appa now,_ Donghyuck thought. But he didn’t say it out loud. Because he didn’t feel any older, holding a child of his own.

He felt… grounded, maybe. He felt different. But he didn’t feel like he was old. Maybe it would change, in the upcoming weeks, or maybe not. Who knew. They weren’t following a usual formula of doing things anyway so, his feelings were obviously going to be a bit different from what was considered ‘normal’ anyway.

Donghyuck and Mark were still living with Donghyuck’s parents. They had been thinking of maybe renting a small apartment of their own, but Donghyuck’s mom had asked (begged) them to stay a little longer. They didn’t exactly have lots of money to throw around and Donghyuck’s parents (or his mom at least) wanted to be of help.

Because although Mark and Donghyuck were married, they were still very young. They were still in college, which was tough enough even without a small child hanging around. 

_“Just for the first few months. Or years”,_ Donghyuck’s mother had said. _“We don’t mind a little extra life in the house, besides, we could be of help while you study. You should save money for something nicer than the cheapest rental apartment in the outskirts of town”_

She made perfect sense. And Donghyuck knew that she was asking for herself as well since their house was emptying at a rapid pace and she wasn’t ready for a quiet house yet.

Although Donghyuck was the oldest, his sisters had grown up so fast that it was as though they had all become adults at the same time. And, his parents had gone from having three children that they had to take care of, to suddenly having none that needed their attention. Donghyuck’s oldest younger sister had moved to Gwanju in spring, to start college there, and his youngest sister had always been impatient, having joined girl scouts and a cheerleading team and constantly traveling around the country to go to camps and whatnot.

Donghyuck had been the one at home the most. The age difference between him and his youngest sister was barely two and a half years so, it was no wonder that Sohyun had caught up with him so fast, being the superhuman that she was. She was currently calming down a little, to study for her own SATs, but she was planning on applying for university in Japan and Donghyuck had no doubts that she would get in. His mother was distressed, but even she knew that she had to let her daughter go.

So. She was only happy that at least one of her children would stay a little longer. And she loved kids. Donghyuck’s dad did whatever his wife wanted so that was settled. They would stay, for now.

Mark’s phone beeped and he furrowed his brows, as he looked at the screen.

“Is it your boss again?” Donghyuck asked. The asshole was constantly calling for Mark to come to fill someone else’s shift - Mark worked part-time in a record shop, and most of his workmates were also college students, not really interested in the job and moving their shifts around whenever they could. Mark often took those shifts because he was too nice to say no, and they needed the money.

“My boss?” Mark muttered. “Ah, yeah, him”

Mmh sounded like a lie but Donghyuck didn’t want to point that out in front of their friends. 

“Then don’t answer. You agreed on a couple of days off, didn’t you?”

“Yeah”, Mark nodded, but his eyes were still on the phone. Jaemin and Renjun glanced at each other and Donghyuck tried not to think too much of it. “I… I think I have to take this one though. Just a sec”

Mark leaned down to quickly peck Donghyuck’s lips and answered the call as he stepped out of the door. Donghyuck looked after him, a bit confused, but tried not to think too much of it. Mark was… stressed too, he was in a new situation, him acting a bit strange was perfectly normal.

His eyes shifted from the door to something else that he could use as a distraction to both him and the others.

“What are you looking at”, he scoffed and kicked Jaemin lightly. “World to Jaemin!”

“Why do you have to be so mean!” Jaemin whined. “I’m just… you two are so disgustingly domestic and perfect, I hate it”

“I bet you do”, Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Just so you know, I’m actually scared out of my mind”

“You don’t look like it”, Renjun pointed out. “You look great. All three of you”

“What’s with the compliments today?” he muttered. “How annoying. Keep them coming, thank you”

Renjun laughed at that and Jaemin rolled his eyes. It was good to see that some things hadn't changed. That some things wouldn't change, no matter what. 

Donghyuck had never been the one to run from change and be afraid of it. He was usually the one running forward to welcome it, looking for it. But now, holding his child in his arms... he couldn't help but be just a little wary of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, let me start by saying that I would have never expected this overwhelming support that the story got. During the first few hours after the release of the first chapter, comments and kudos just kept coming and I just stared at my email in awe. I still can’t quite believe it, you seem to have a lot of faith in this story.
> 
> Thank you so much, everyone. I don’t know what else to say. I will do my very best to make this story worth your time. To be honest with you, I feel slightly more pressured now because I know that so many people are interested in this and I don’t want to let you down, but then again, a little pressure is good! It makes me work harder and get things done! Thank you to all of you for being so kind <3
> 
> So, here’s chapter two! I little earlier than I intended because you totally deserved it <3

_“Oh, baby!” Donghyuck's mom ran to him immediately and he felt like crying again. The doctor had said that being emotional was normal, and considering that it had only been a short while since he had held his child in his arms for the first time… of course, seeing his mother would make him emotional. He was in a very fragile state._

_“Hey, mom”, he smiled as his mother crouched down to kiss his temple. She looked like she was about to cry too, it was no wonder. Mark was holding the child, standing next to him, but as Donghyuck’s mother, Donghyuck’s mom checked on him first._

_“Are you alright? Did they have to stitch you up? Did you lose a lot of blood?”_

_“Everything went fine, eventually”, he said. It hadn’t gone according to the plan at all. But that no longer mattered. Donghyuck couldn’t help the tears from escaping, but his mom already had a tissue ready for him. “We’re both alright now”_

_“Good. I still can’t believe this is true, I’m so proud of you”, his mother caressed his messy hair gently and then turned to Mark. “Now, show me the child, my son-in-law, I’ve been dying to meet him”_

_Mark chuckled softly and stepped closer at Donghyuck’s mom’s request. His mom’s attention was immediately moved from Donghyuck to the newborn._

_“Meet Beom”, Mark said quietly as he handed the child over. Donghyuck had been worried about anyone else holding his child but seeing the way his mother took him and held him made him feel much calmer. It was his mother, the one who had carried and raised him and his sisters. Beom was in safe hands._

_“Oh, he is beautiful”, his mom exclaimed, but very quietly since Beom was so small and fragile and easily frightened. She looked at the child with such wonder in her eyes and soon, tears filled hers too._

_“He has your eyes”, she whispered. Donghyuck looked up at Mark and they shared a smile._

_He did. Beom had inherited his eyes. That detail had been the first thing that they had pointed out as well. The light color of Donghyuck’s eyes had always been a thing that he had held weird pride over - in Korea, where most people shared a very similar dark brown eye color, his lighter colored eyes were an interesting point. They weren’t, like, blue or yellow or anything, but they were a bit different from the majority._

_That feature had been one of the biggest physical traits that had made Donghyuck look different from his other family members, and it had been an important thing for him when he had started looking for his birth parents. Who did he get it from? Was there a person in the world who shared the same unique feature as him?_

_It had been Baekhyun, of course. The moment that Donghyuck had seen his eyes, as Baekhyun had opened the door to him in New York, Donghyuck had known that he had come to the right place. Baekhyun’s eye color wasn’t so bright that it could be pointed out from old photographs or even videotapes, it was a detail you could only notice if you got close to him. Them._

_Beom shared their eye color. Donghyuck couldn’t say that he had thought about such things before but holding him now, he was happy that he had inherited that trait. Not like there was anything wrong with Mark’s eyes, it was just… it was just a unique part of him that he was happy to share with his son._

_Mark took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly, as they watched while Donghyuck’s mother was in her own world with Beom, talking to him softly._

_“I don’t remember if I’ve told you this before”, Donghyuck’s alpha father moved Donghyuck’s feet a little, to make space for himself on the bed before sitting down carefully. Yes, he was there too, he just tended to stay back while Donghyuck’s mother fussed and ran before him. In that way, he was a very typical old husband. “But when we saw you for the first time, your mother fell for your eyes. And that’s why we chose you”_

_“Oh”, that was a new piece of knowledge to Donghyuck. “You never told me how you picked me”_

_“Of course, many factors played their part”, his father hummed and rested his hand on Donghyuck’s shin through the blanket. It felt weirdly comforting, coming from his dad who had last hugged him when he had been a child. “But I still remember it vividly, your mother exclaiming ‘Look at his eyes, Hyunwoo, I’ve never seen anything like this before! This must be a sign!’”_

_“It feels like yesterday when I held you like this”, his mom sighed and came to sit next to her husband on Donghyuck’s bed, to show him the baby too. Donghyuck saw smile wrinkles on his father’s face, as his face lit up to the sight of the newborn._

_“Hello”, he said softly. Not in a blabbering way, but gently. Donghyuck had seen his father talk like that only to their neighbor’s puppy before, when he had thought that no one would hear. “Welcome to the world, Beom. You little rascal”_

_Donghyuck was immediately reminded of how he had told his parents about this whole pregnancy thing. As one would assume, no one had been exactly happy but… It was like introducing a new pet to the family, one that the father hadn’t approved of. Once it was there, once it had moved in to stay and nothing could be done to prevent it, fathers usually softened and learned to live with them. More than that - they became the pet’s best friend._

_Oh god, Donghyuck must have been the first parent in the world to compare his child to an unwanted kitten._

_“Good job, Hyuckie”, his father patted his shin and kept smiling at the child. Yeah, good job. The morning sickness, the continuous changes in his body for months, and finally, the 20 hours that it had taken him to push the child out - yeah, the last nine months has required a hell of a lot of work from him._

_“Beom. Lee Beom”, his mother tried the name a few times. “Why Beom? Is it your final decision?”_

_“Yeah, pretty much. We both liked the name and we thought it fit”, Mark answered. He had gotten a lot more comfortable with Donghyuck’s parents, and they had warmed up to him a lot. The start had been rough, obviously, because Mark had basically been ‘the young alpha who got him pregnant’ and nothing else but, the alpha had proven that he could carry out his responsibilities. He had taken up a job on the side and he studied diligently._

_"It's a beautiful name", his mother smiled at Mark brightly, and then looked back to Beom. "Lee Beom, our Beomie, little tiger”_

_“When are you coming home?” Donghyuck’s alpha father asked the practical questions while his mother just fussed with the child. Typical. Cute. Familiar, in a weird way._

_“I don’t know for sure yet”, Donghyuck took the chance to lie on the bed properly again. He had greeted his parents politely, but he needed to lie down most of the time, to heal right. “In theory, I could leave tomorrow, but they still want to keep an eye on my wounds and sugar levels”_

_“Okay”, his father nodded. “There is no rush, just make sure to get yourself healed first. We’ll help with the hospital bill if needed”_

_“I will”, Donghyuck sighed and blinked his tears away. “Thank you”_

…

Not even the uncle card was enough to grant Jeno three days off. Or, that’s what Donghyuck was told. It made him a bit sad, to know that he wasn’t going to see one of his best friends when he got home, but it was what it was. Maybe it was even… a good thing. It would reduce Donghyuck’s stress levels a bit because he wouldn’t have to keep an eye on Jaemin.

He wasn’t entirely sure what Jaemin and Jeno’s relationship was like, at the moment. Jeno being away had definitely cleaned the air, but whenever he came back… Donghyuck had never seen the two together after his enlistment so he didn’t know what it was like. Was there awkwardness in the air? Whenever Jaemin talked about Jeno, he sounded exactly like he had two years ago when they hadn’t been together yet. Like they were just good friends with a tiny hint of playful tension between them. But still, Donghyuck couldn’t be sure. 

Jaemin had continued his life… not in complete celibacy, but he hadn’t returned to having sex with everything and everyone either. He had indeed gone out with Sungchan a few times, and Donghyuck had heard through the grapevine that the two had been spotted making out in a nightclub. However, at some point, they had decided that they worked better as friends and that was it. There hadn’t been even a slight bit of awkwardness between the two of them, and Donghyuck respected them for it. How mature of them both.

Then again, Jaemin was the kind of person who had no problem kissing his friends either. Donghyuck was a prime example of- Okay, _he_ wasn’t, but Jaemin had friends who he had no problem making out with when he got some alcohol in his system and leaving it at that. Or, that was what he always said. Donghyuck could only trust his word.

Donghyuck was sometimes worried that Jaemin might end up repeating his past mistakes and becoming unhappy again. That was why he spent a lot of time talking with the younger omega - _really_ talking. And as far as he knew, Jaemin was doing alright.

Jaemin still had his heats to worry about. He wasn’t going to spend them alone so, whenever the time came, he had someone to spend them with. Jaemin had befriended a beautiful omega male called Hyunjin (yes, even Donghyuck could admit that the guy was gorgeous) from his minor classes and they apparently helped each other out a lot.

But there were… other things Jaemin did too.

When Mark’s friends, Johnny and Jaehyun, had flown over for New Year’s, it had just so happened that Jaemin’s heat hit him at that time as well. And all three of them _suspiciously_ disappeared for several days.

Donghyuck asked about it from Jaemin afterward, and the redness spreading on the omega’s face was an answer enough. Well, they were all legal adults, so what they did behind closed doors was no one else’s business. Donghyuck had just asked if his heart was alright with it and Jaemin had nodded, embarrassed, hiding his face in his hands.

Mark had reprimanded his hyungs for it though. He had been shocked and disgusted - Mark was still kind of a prude, so, no wonder. Still.

_“Jaemin is over three, FIVE years younger than you! Don’t you have ANY shame?!” Mark gasped as though it was scandalous enough to put all of their families to shame. Johnny just laughed loudly._

_“Says you”, the alpha said. “The only one of us who knocked up an omega younger than himself and is now on his way to becoming a father at 20 - no offense Donghyuck”_

_“None taken”, Donghyuck answered from where he had been lying on his side on the sofa, since his stomach had grown so big that that was the only comfortable position left for him._

Yeah. Jaemin, as well as Johnny and Jaehyun, were free to do whatever they pleased. Everyone was. Donghyuck shouldn’t worry about the troubles of others. It was just difficult for him to learn since he was so used to sticking his nose up everybody’s business. Oh well, maybe parenthood would teach him something about priorities.

Speaking of parenthood, he watched as Mark carried Beom to the table and started cleaning him up. 

“We have to make a vaccination plan”, he said. “Let’s try to look over it tonight, so we can start as soon as possible”

“Yeah”, Donghyuck muttered as he sat up carefully, trying to avoid straining his muscles. Vaccination plan - that was one of the things that a normal 20-year-old (or 21, as Donghyuck was in Korea now) would have no business thinking about. Yes, Donghyuck had priorities over his friends’ relationship matters. Lots of them.

“Do you need help?”, Mark turned to him as he heard Donghyuck gasp. He just shook his head - moving was still a bit difficult but it was also because he was trying to be extra careful not to rip his stitches. He had bled out plenty, his hospital visit had become a few days longer than intended. He wanted out of the white, sterilized, uncomfortably unfamiliar room. And that meant that he had to be very careful.

“No, just focus on Beom”, he said, but then looked down at his shoes waiting on the floor. He bit his lip. “Or maybe you could help me with my shoelaces once you’re done?”

“I could help with that?”

An unfamiliar voice joined their conversation - or no, it was anything but unfamiliar. A voice that Donghyuck would recognize in his deepest dreams. He looked up at the door and indeed, he hadn’t imagined it. There, standing in the doorway, was-

“Jeno!” Donghyuck exclaimed. The beta was wearing his dark green military uniform, his smile reached his ears and Donghyuck felt like crying, _again._

Gosh, how _annoying._

“Hey, Hyuckie”, Jeno’s smile deepened as Donghyuck opened his arms wide. He couldn’t make quick movements, running to his arms was definitely a no-no. Jeno walked over and hugged him instead. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were not going to make it!”

“I got released earlier, just so I could come to meet my omega friend”, even Jeno’s voice was smiling. Donghyuck blinked his eyes aggressively, trying to get rid of those unneeded, unwelcome tears. He squeezed the beta tighter. “So, surprise! I didn’t have the time to pick up flowers or anything, sorry”

Donghyuck saw Mark smiling while pretending to be focusing on dressing their son

“You knew about this!” Donghyuck pointed that sentence at Mark who only smiled wider. “You fucking traitor!”

“There there, calm down Hyuckie, it’s not good to swear with small children around”, Jeno reprimanded him as he pulled away, and Donghyuck hit his arm. 

“Beom is not going to understand anything in a long while so, do not lecture me you unmated beta”, Donghyuck snapped but in reality, he was happy to see him. So happy. It had been almost a month since he had seen the beta last, and he had thought it would take another before they could meet again. 

Despite Jeno being in the military most of the time, they had been able to fix their friendship. It was as though no fights had ever even been fought. In some ways, their fight had cleared the air and they had not returned to what they had been - no, they were stronger now. So, even if they sometimes didn’t see each other in months, Donghyuck knew that he could count on him. And vice versa.

“Beom? Is that what you call him?” Jeno asked and turned around. “I’ve heard a lot about him, I wonder if he’s been overhyped”

“If anything, he’s been underhyped”

Mark managed to get the jacket on the child and he lifted him from the table. Beom looked red, rather uncomfortable, and there was no doubt that he would start crying any second now. Being forcefully dressed was unpleasant, so it was no wonder. 

“Here he is~”, Mark said cheerfully and showed him to Jeno. Donghyuck in turn tried to pull up his socks. Gosh, why was that so troublesome too? His body was smaller now but still, he felt fragile and uncomfortable.

“Oh”, Jeno wondered out loud as he finally saw the child. “He looks like-”

“If I were you I’d consider my next words _very carefully_ ”

“- a wrinkly newborn”

Donghyuck furrowed his brows. Jeno turned to him as Mark continued dressing Beom. The next stop was thick socks and he would be done. Just like Donghyuck, kind of.

“That’s what Renjun told me he was like. And he was right”

“Oh, Renjun. One would think that spending some time with Dejun, the cheesiest fairytale prince on the planet, would make him richer in his vocabulary but no”, Donghyuck huffed and pulled his other sock on. And without him even having to say anything, Jeno kneeled in front of him to help him into his worn converses. 

_Haha, you’re kneeling in front of me._

Donghyuck wasn’t immature enough to say something like that out loud.

Jeno tied his shoelaces carefully, not too tight. Donghyuck rolled his ankles a little, to feel the shoes - his ankles had been badly swollen before, but now the converses felt almost too big on his feet. Oh, well, he could buy a new pair. He needed new clothes anyway.

“Here”, Mark handed Beom to him once the child was fully dressed. Donghyuck took him and smiled at the baby’s red face. The winds in April could still be a bit cold, but this amount of clothes on the tiny child felt like too much. “I’ll tell the nurses that we’re leaving, then we can go”

“Sure”

Mark got out of the door, and that was when Donghyuck realized to ask Jeno.

“Are you coming with us?” 

“Hopefully”, the beta said. “Jaemin and Renjun went beforehand, to cook. And I only bought a single bus ticket from the base to here”

Donghyuck nodded. Of course, Jeno was welcome to drive to their place with them, there was enough space in their car - the first thing they had bought as a married couple. Beom whined and Donghyuck hushed him gently. Jeno sat down next to him, looking a bit like he didn’t know what to do.

It was no wonder. Donghyuck wouldn’t know what to do either if he hadn’t been in a situation where he had no choice but to learn. Beom was five days old, Donghyuck felt like he had learned a million things in those days and he would have to keep doing so to ensure his child’s safety.

Five days. Wait.

“Oh, right, happy birthday!” He said and looked up at Jeno. “Or, happy late birthday. Ah, I feel like an idiot for forgetting, we just talked about this with Jaemin and Renjun”

“It’s okay, really. Thank you”, Jeno smiled with his eyes and glanced at the child in his arms. “I get that you had other things to worry about”

“Other things to worry about”, Donghyuck echoed and looked back at Beom. “Isn’t that right…”

And almost as though an alarm had been turned on, Beom started to bawl.

...

The commotion in the hallway was crazy.

“What’s going on?” Donghyuck wondered out loud as they got out of the room. Mark threw the backpack on his back and looked around too. Nurses and doctors were walking back and forth, escorting patients from one place to another.

“Seems like a busy day in the er”, Mark muttered. It was, for some reason, located on the same floor. “The elevators are all occupied”

And they were on the fifth floor.

Great.

Donghyuck looked at the staircase. It wasn’t like he _couldn’t_ walk the stairs, his feet worked perfectly fine, it was just… his wounds. He grimaced at the thought of the upcoming pain.

“We need to get going”, Mark said. “Beom will scream his lungs out”

And drive a bunch of already busy people crazy too, yeah. Donghyuck tried to rock the child in his arms but it was in vain. They had to get out.

“So, do you need someone to carry you?” Jeno asked, after seeing his hesitation in front of the stairs. It was a perfectly polite thing to ask, but Donghyuck felt embarrassed so he shook his head.

“I’m fine. If I needed someone, I’d ask my husband”

“Yeah yeah, you married omega or whatever”, Jeno rolled his eyes. “I can either carry you or your kid so-”

“Okay!”, Donghyuck answered immediately. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Jeno with Beom but… okay, maybe he didn’t. But that wasn’t a rational fear, it was purely instinctual. “Mark, take Beom and go ahead. We’ll come right after you”

Mark took the child no questions asked and only shot them one glance before nodding. No one wanted a screaming child in the hallways, Mark was going to take good care of Beom, Donghyuck had absolutely no doubt about that. The alpha hurried down the stairs and Donghyuck looked after him until he disappeared from sight.

“So, piggyback or bridal style?” 

Jeno was right beside him immediately. Donghyuck furrowed his brows at the beta.

“Wipe that smug smile from your face right now!”

“That’s our Donghyuck!” Jeno laughed and grabbed Donghyuck so suddenly, he couldn’t help but yelp.

He ended up being carried bridal style. Donghyuck honestly didn’t give a shit about what other people thought, and it wasn’t like he had a real reason to actually be ashamed - yes, running down the stairs would hurt him so much that he’d rather not do it, and being carried bridal style in public because of it might otherwise be embarrassing BUT Donghyuck knew how it was. He had grown a full human in his omega body and pushed it out less than a week ago. Give him a break.

Jeno carried him so easily. Donghyuck wrapped his hands around his neck to secure himself better. 

“Since when have you been this buff?” He asked as Jeno didn’t seem to even break a sweat, carrying him as though he weighed ten kilos max. The beta flexed his biceps and Donghyuck slapped his arm.

“Military training makes wonders, I have nothing else to do in my free time except go to the gym so, what do you expect”, Jeno just laughed and walked the stairs steadily. He stopped behind a corner so that a bunch of kids could pass them by. A young girl stopped to stare at them but her mother pulled her along and Jeno continued walking. Children and their shamelessness, ha. “Since when have _you_ been this light? Shouldn’t you be, like, a whale now, after everything?”

Donghyuck hit him again and Jeno pretended to drop him. Donghyuck yelped and hugged his neck, while Jeno just laughed.

Gosh, it would have been easier to just walk. 

“I’m not that light”, Donghyuck would have never imagined that he would be arguing on _that_ side but, the world was crazy. Unpredictable. He had a baby bump but it was empty now, so to say. “ _You_ go grow a four-kilo child in you and push it out and try to fulfill a million different expectations!”

“Okay, fine, don’t yell at me”, Jeno leaned his head away from Donghyuck a little. “I just want to make sure you’re alright. So many things have changed while I’ve been away”

Donghyuck thought of that for a few steps. Jeno was trying to carry him softly, keeping his steps as light as possible. The walk from the fifth floor was a long one. So, thank god Donghyuck didn’t have to walk it himself. 

“Everything has changed”, Donghyuck muttered, more to himself than Jeno, but the beta reacted to it anyway.

“How are you holding up?” He asked, and jumped very softly to get a better hold of him. 

“I’m as okay as I can possibly be”, Donghyuck said quietly. “I’m carrying out my responsibilities. This is the path I chose”

“It doesn’t mean that you have to be alright with everything”, Jeno pointed out. “I chose to go to the military now, but that doesn’t mean that I enjoy every second of it. Not even close.”

“Well, you _had_ to go at some point so you didn't exactly choose it”, Donghyuck muttered and bent his knees so that his legs didn’t hit the doorway Jeno was walking them through.

“And you didn’t choose to get pregnant”, Jeno said. “Just… if something comes up, let me know. Or any of us. Don't work yourself to the bone just because you think you have to”

“Yeah, okay”, Donghyuck smiled a little. “And I’m not alone in the first place. Honestly, it’s too early to tell how well we will handle this but I’ll keep that in mind”

“Good”, Jeno smiled as well. They walked through the lobby on the lowest floor and Jeno had no intention to lower Donghyuck down, so he just tried to make himself small in the beta’s arms as he zigzagged between the people. Many more people turned to look at them there. Donghyuck just closed his eyes and hid his face to the crook of Jeno’s neck. 

He smelled of… army? Like gunpowder and oil and some other unpleasant things connected to the military. He was wearing military clothes - an attire meant for soldiers going on holiday so not exactly a fighting uniform but it was unmistakable. Anyone could tell that he was a soldier in training, from his clothes and hairstyle. So, for the first time possibly ever (or that was how Donghyuck liked to think, ha) people were pointing more stares at Jeno instead of him.

A nurse even opened the front door for them and Jeno thanked her with a bright smile.

“Military really suits you”, Donghyuck said once they were out. “How has it been?”

“Freeing”, Jeno smiled and straightened his back even more now that they were under the sun. He enjoyed the attention, of course, he did. “I haven’t had a single independent thought in months”

“Years, you mean?” 

Jeno pretended to drop him again but this time, Donghyuck was ready and clung to him so hard that it was the beta who screeched like a bird.

Jeno ended up carrying him over the parking lot as well, despite Donghyuck’s protests.

“Someone might think you’re my fiancee or something”, Donghyuck rolled his eyes when Jeno carried him past the cherry blossoms. There were indeed aunties sitting there, under the trees, on very comfortable-looking, freshly painted park benches. Donghyuck had grown up to either fear or dislike them because they always told him to shut up or _‘go away from my garden and stop skateboarding you noisy brats_ ’ but they had a sweet side to them too. Everyone did.

“ _Your_ fiance? Ew”, Jeno made a face. “Never in a million years”

“Likewise. I wouldn’t want someone bald”, Donghyuck showed Jeno his tongue.

“It’s a buzz cut! I’m not bald!”

“I bet you get lots of women with that”, Donghyuck ran his hand against Jeno’s spiky stubble. “It’s very masculine, being a soldier. Are you planning on going out to hunt this weekend?”

Jeno shook his head.

“I wasn’t intending to. Chenle has been trying to lure me into some kind of a beta outing with him and Shotaro though. I’m still pondering”

“Shotaro?” that was surprising. “Are we talking about the same guy? The otter-looking, constantly smiling Japanese who can’t even drink sparkling water because it’s too strong?”

“I don’t know either”, Jeno shrugged. “Who knows, he might turn out to be the one who drinks us all under the table. Never trust a pretty face”

“You’re right”, Donghyuck muttered. “In that case, you should definitely go and check that out”

Jeno chuckled.

“I’ll think about it”

They reached the car in no time. Mark raised his brows at the sight of Jeno still carrying him but didn’t say anything. Donghyuck kissed him before sitting at the back with Beom. Jeno and Mark sat in the front and fell into easy chattering while Mark drove them to Donghyuck’s house.

There were a whole bunch of people gathered around Donghyuck's childhood home, he could see some of them from the window already. 

“Did they invite the whole country?” Mark muttered as he turned to the driveway.

“And half of Canada as well”, Donghyuck answered as he spotted Wendy, Mark’s cousin, in the crowd as well. “This is going to be a blast”

The moment they got out of the car, Donghyuck felt like he was surrounded by paparazzi or something. Like an idol going through an airport. Except that he didn’t have any bodyguards.

“We made kimchi jjigae”, Renjun yelled happily from the kitchen. “Everyone, come eat!”

“Rice and side dishes coming through!”

“Let’s take a family portrait, one two three say cheese!”

“Omg, he is so cute let me hold him!”

“Donghyuck, Donghyuck! How are you feeling?”

“Congratulations!”

“What, is there a party in the neighborhood? Why!”

“Your child is so cute, what's their name?”

“Jeno! Mark! Come on and help me, let’s carry some more chairs outside!”

“Have you thought of private schools? There’s a really great one in Incheon, my son went there and-”

“Dessert coming through!”

“Aaaaaargh Haneul! Stop chewing on it! Spit it out, Spit it OUT”

“Beomie Beomie Beomieeee”

"Gaeun! Don't bite your sister!"

“Mom! Come take a look!”

“Omg you look so tired”

“Where is the-”

“- coffee! Coming right up!”

“Donghyuck, what was it like giving birth as a male omega?!”

“Dear lord his head is so huge, I don’t want to give birth, ever”

“Sohyun! That’s rude!”

"You must have lost, like, tons of blood"

“Jaemin!”

“Where’s the cake?”

"Oh lord babies are so weird"

“Wait, where did Mark go?”

"I'm gonna be sick"

“Beomieeeee”

"Let's take one more picture!"

  
  


**_SLAM_ **

  
  


Donghyuck pressed his back against the door and took a deep breath. As though he was filling his lungs with air that had traveled over mountaintops and valleys just to get to him and give back some of his lost energy. Donghyuck slid against the door until he was sitting on the floor. The evening had finally driven the last guests away and although it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, he was _exhausted._

“That was something”, Mark commented from where he was, placing Beom on their shared bed. Donghyuck forced himself up from the floor only to almost collapse on the bed next to their child.

“I’m so tired, I feel like I could pass out right away”, Donghyuck sighed. The child was eyeing him with wonder in his eyes like he often did, Donghyuck kissed his cheek and laid very close to him so that he could feel his touch all the time.

“Me too”, Mark sighed and laid on the other side of the bed, but just as close. “Who would have thought that getting home would be so… much?”

“Everything feels like a lot right now”, Donghyuck sighed. “Right, Beomie?”

_Sidenote: never let Jaemin and Renjun arrange anything for you ever again._

The child tried his very best to mirror him, and Donghyuck felt like he could get lost just looking at him. Just looking at the way that the child saw the world, his expressions, and the way he blinked his big eyes. The smallest of things meant the world to him.

Despite being sleep-deprived, tired, and drained, Donghyuck was so damn happy. His emotions were all over the place and he was, most of the time, still in pain, but at that particular moment when the world had slowed down a bit for them, he felt happy. His wrecked body suddenly decided to burst a bubble of dopamine in his brain and he felt happy and content and the world was soft and warm and safe. Perfect.

“Right”, Mark answered instead. “Surreal”

The weight of the world didn't feel like nearly as much when Donghyuck got to lay next to his baby. It vanished, as though Beom had some magical powers that made his universe tilt and start to run around himself instead of the sun. Donghyuck watched Beom's light-colored eyes, his long eyelashes, and his soft cheeks, and he just...

“He is so beautiful, isn’t he?” Donghyuck whispered. Who would have thought that he would become so soft? He had never particularly liked kids, least of all babies. But he liked Beom. So much it hurt.

“He is”, Mark sighed too. He caressed the impossibly soft baby skin on Beom’s head and cheeks and the child just blinked, enjoying the touch and undivided attention of his parents. Donghyuck knew that Beom couldn’t see or feel much yet - he was limited, in his own bubble where many weren’t able to enter yet. But he knew Donghyuck and Mark. From the way they felt, the way they smelled, the way they sounded.

And he would always be safe with them. Even though Beom couldn’t really understand it yet, he knew it, somewhere deep down. Donghyuck could see it from his eyes, he could sense it, in a way that could only be described as the parent’s instinct. 

Mark leaned over Beom carefully, to press a kiss on Donghyuck’s forehead.

“Thank you, Donghyuck”, he whispered.

_“Thank you, for giving him to me”_

That was what Mark had whispered to him when they had finally been able to hold him for the first time. After 20 hours of pain and uncertainty, of bleeding and of fear, at 3 am they had finally heard the bright cries break the darkness and surround their hearts with life that would never disappear. 

Donghyuck had barely been able to see a thing when he had finally gotten the child against his chest. Skin against skin, he had felt the tiny heart pumping so loudly inside this small being that was all him. They had made this, this beautiful small human that was now crying for the world - _I’m here, I’m here! I’m breathing, I’m feeling, I’m real!_ Donghyuck had sobbed, for he had thought many times that he had already lost him. That it was all gone, that he had failed. But he hadn’t. The new reason for his existence was currently lying in his arms, and nothing would change that anymore.

 _“He is so beautiful”,_ Mark had sounded close to tears too, next to him. Beautiful, beautiful, that word was repeated so many times that it almost lost its meaning. And at the same time, it wasn’t nearly enough. There were no words for the feeling, for what he saw and heard and what surrounded him from that moment on. So much responsibility. So much meaning. Donghyuck knew that he would never be the same again.

_Thank you._

_I love you so much._

Donghyuck pulled Mark down a little, to kiss him properly. Donghyuck loved Mark now more than he ever had before. Even though he had a child relying on him now, it hadn’t come in between them to divide their attention - it had only brought them closer. Mark tasted like home and safety that Donghyuck wanted to give Beom. The bond of trust and love that they had formed between them was the foundation of the home that Beom was going to grow up in.

“I love you”, he whispered when he pulled away. 

“I love you too”

Drifting off to sleep, Donghyuck felt happier than ever before. If only it could last.

Well, it was one day at a time for them. And that day, despite everything, they were alright. And nothing else mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the reason why the child’s name is Beom is, well… You know how Bom in Korean means spring, and it's a girl’s name? So Beom is kinda like a masculine version of that since he was born in spring. Also, I wanted a one-syllable name because I really like them and Beom alone (depending on the hanja of course but we’re not making it complicated here) can also mean tiger in very old Korean. Yeah, we all know that horangi (thanks SuperM) also means tiger, but Beom has that meaning too. I thought it just fit that their child would be called the little tiger.
> 
> Sorry if you were expecting something deep haha I spent, like, two minutes picking the name, as I usually do. I’m not the kind of writer who spends a lot of time researching names. So, yeah, do not look deeper into the etymology, it’s not important, the child is called Lee Beom and in this universe, it has the meanings listed above.
> 
> Thanks for reading guys! I hope you all have a great day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have taken a lot of liberties with newborns and how they should be raised. I know that for humans, some of these things would be wrong. But this is the world of wolf-blooded people, alphas and omegas and betas and heats and mates. That is why some things work differently here. I’ve done a lot of research and most of the time I break the boundaries of biology knowingly and on purpose - this is for all of you who might know something about medicine, I know that I’m doing stuff wrong so don’t come at me (unless you feel like it is absolutely necessary) :D
> 
> Also, we talk about religion in this story a bit. But just... I'm not trying to make a point or anything, don't think about it too much if you despise this particular topic. It's not very important here.

Donghyuck woke up long after the sun had started shining through the blinds. He blinked his eyes open slowly and took in his surroundings. Or, just the most important things in it. He was sleeping on his side, and Beom was curled against his stomach, as much as an infant could. Donghyuck looked at him and although he still felt anxious about being a parent - it wasn’t a random dream anymore, it was reality - he couldn’t help but smile.

The child looked so content. Mark must have changed his clothes at some point while Donghyuck had been asleep since he looked different from the night before. However, Beom was breathing so calmly there, against Donghyuck’s still soft stomach, that it looked like he had always just been there. 

In wild nature, newborns slept next to their omega parents (or beta female parents) to stay safe and warm. Although now it wasn’t necessary, although now they didn’t need to depend on their parents for body heat and protection, they still craved it. In the past, Donghyuck had been a restless sleeper but with Beom there, his body knew what to do and he stayed in place, curled around him a little like a wolf in the wild. Beom seemed to sleep the best when he got to spend his nights sleeping against Donghyuck as well.

Even in the hospital, when Donghyuck had had to stay for a few days extra, Beom had refused to sleep in his crib. He had cried until a nurse had placed him next to Donghyuck on the bed and that was how they had slept. 

They would have to teach Beom out of that at some point. The blanket of moss and animal fur had been replaced with cotton and polyester, their home cave was now a house with underfloor heating and locks in the doors, so there was no reason for them to stay glued to each other. But Beom didn’t understand that. Both Beom and Donghyuck were strongly driven by their millennium-old instincts and ripping them out of them would be both harmful and unnecessarily cruel. The child hadn’t even been out of the womb for a full week yet, he was allowed to be glued to his omega parent now.

And for years to come.

Donghyuck yawned and reached for the phone that he had left under his pillow the night before. He had expected to wake up to something like this, so he had put it there for a reason. Yeah, it might not be healthy because of radiation and yada yada but he wanted to check the world and not disturb his child. So that was what he did.

The first thing he noticed was a series of photos sent to their shared group chat by Chenle. The timestamp for the latest one read 4:42 am so Donghyuck could make a guess what kind of pictures they would be. And of course, he was right.

Blurry, shaky pictures illuminated only by the neon lights of a nightclub. There were some from the dance floor that were completely useless, but a few group selfies were understandable. They were of Chenle himself, then Chenle with Jeno and Shotaro and different combinations, with different colored drinks in their hands and different funny expressions on their faces.

Ah, so they had gone out after all. Donghyuck could almost touch the atmosphere through the pictures, he could smell the sweet smoke, feel how his shoes stuck to the floor where a dozen people had spilled their drinks. He could feel the warmth of the people so close around him, the sensory overload when everyone was screaming, the music was loud and inconsistent and everyone’s pheromones mixed together.

He remembered how fun as well as awful it had all been. And he didn’t miss it one bit. 

Then, Jaemin and Renjun had sent dozens of pictures to him, from the welcome home party. Renjun’s were mostly from the crowd, general in-motion pictures. Jaemin was usually good at taking pictures so his were a bit better, candid shots taken from smart angles. He had obviously edited the pictures a little, but that only made them more beautiful. 

There was one photo in particular that Donghyuck liked. In said picture, Mark was holding Beom but he was looking at Donghyuck who kept pouting at him - they had argued over something mundane and ridiculous, Donghyuck couldn’t even remember anymore since the past day had been so long and filled with action. Beom looked happy enough, he was still red after having cried but he was looking at Mark with wide eyes.

The picture was so cute. Donghyuck smiled and saved it, before moving to his other messages. There was a group chat quite far down the list that he hadn’t interacted with for days. So, might as well put the picture to use right away.

_**[威神V + honorable friends]** _

  
_**Hyuckie 广东弟弟** _   
_[sent a picture]_   
_Meet Lee Beom, everyone!_   
_He was born on the 19th of April!_

A short while after leaving China he had been added to a group chat with Guanheng’s and Yangyang’s friends, the ones he had met during their visit to China. Renjun was there too. Most of the time Donghyuck kept it muted because they kept talking in Chinese and he could understand written Chinese even less than spoken, but it felt good being a part of it.

He was technically one of the “Canton brothers” now. That was what the three Cantonese referred to him as. It was fun, he got to see pictures from all of their adventures. He didn’t wonder at all anymore, how Yangyang and Lucas had been able to befriend so many people from all over the world - they just formed connections with all people they ever met and held on to them.

Donghyuck’s picture was quite random, between their conversations about the newest idols groups and motorcycles and Yangyang and Guanheng’s new adopted cat, but the whole thing was random as hell anyway.

_**Yangx2 杨杨** _   
_Oh my god_   
_You actually did it_

  
_**Xiaojun 德俊** _   
_Beautiful child_   
_Congratulations_

Donghyuck smiled. Renjun had taught Dejun a lot of Korean, he was really trying and it was cute.

_**Kun 琨哥** _   
_Congratulations_

Kun, as well, although Donghyuck didn’t exactly know why.

**_Lucas 旭熙_ **   
_Eyyyy_

**_Hendery 冠亨_ **   
_I still can’t believe that you made that in my car_

**_Yangx2 杨杨_ **   
_Yeah, I think Heng should have some kind of godfather rights now_

**_Hendery 冠亨_ **   
_I’m not a Christian_

**_Yangx2 杨杨_ **   
_Ah damn_   
_But like, he could be an unofficial godfather_   
_Conceiving godfather or something you know_

**_Hyuckie 广东弟弟_ **   
_Please don’t say anything like that ever again_

  
Well. They didn’t know exactly when Beom had been… made but considering the time frame and his symptoms, it might have been then - back when Donghyuck and Mark had gone on that car date. Once Guanheng had heard that he had insisted that it must have been in his love car and there was no turning back from there.

As long as he didn’t blurt it out to Beom once the child was old enough to understand, Donghyuck didn’t care. If Guanheng was still around when the child became properly self-aware… that was bound to happen, wasn’t it?

Beom made some noise and Donghyuck put his phone down immediately.

“Hey”, he said softly. “Did you sleep well? Are you hungry?”

Beom started to cry and Donghyuck picked him up to tend to his needs.

The house was empty, as it often were. Besides the noises from the road, Donghyuck couldn’t hear a single sound. Mark wasn’t inside, he couldn’t be - Donghyuck felt some distance between them, and their house wasn’t big enough to create that even if they were in the opposite corners.

Donghyuck got an answer before he got to wonder long enough to form a question. When he got to the kitchen, he looked out of the window, and there he was. Mark kept walking back and forth in the garden, talking on the phone. He was too far for Donghyuck to sense his mental state but he seemed tense, running his hand through his hair in every turn. 

He looked distressed so Donghyuck could guess that he was talking to his parents. 

Donghyuck took his time taking care of Beom, and when he was done, the child was calmer and Donghyuck picked him up from the table. Holding him against his chest still felt the most natural to him, the child made some noise but at least he wasn’t crying anymore. 

When Mark put the phone down, Donghyuck opened the door to the garden.

“Morning”, he said carefully, trying to sense what the alpha was feeling. Mark looked distressed but as he saw them, the lines on his forehead evened out right away.

“Oh, hi, I didn’t see you”, he said as Donghyuck walked over, and he showed his phone to the back pocket of his jeans. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you”, Donghyuck got on his toes and kissed him softly - the damn alpha and his stupid insoles, Mark never exited the house without them anymore. “I can’t believe I didn’t wake up to his crying”

“You did, but I forced you back to sleep right away”, Mark smiled and caressed Beom’s head. 

It was impossible for Donghyuck to imagine losing Beom anymore. The mere thought of how ready he had been to just ab- get rid of him in his panic last summer made him sick. But now, the child was so precious to him, imagining something happening to him made him lose his mind. 

How some people thought that Beom would be better off not existing than being raised by them… they weren’t teenagers, they were married, but there were still some people who grimaced at the idea, some from his own family even. 

_“Two children, without stable careers or even an apartment of their own, playing house. Poor baby!”_

Donghyuck’s aunt from his father’s side had looked at him with poison in her eyes when she had seen Donghyuck with his small baby bump during Chuseok. The aunties in the neighborhood had been talking as well. Donghyuck knew that they weren’t a perfect stable family but… No newborn had as many loving uncles and grandparents as Beom did. Many didn’t even have a single parent who wanted them.

Beom had been a surprise. But he wasn’t unwanted. 

Donghyuck no longer listened to the vicious aunties and gossip on the street. He was doing his best, that was all he could do anyway. Sometimes only love wasn’t enough. But he hoped that this time, things could be different.

“Did you talk to your parents?” Donghyuck asked. Mark kept his eyes at Beom but his expression already answered the question.

“They switched their flight again”, he sighed.

“Isn’t this, like, the fourth time they do it?” Donghyuck furrowed his brows. “What is it now?"

“My dad had some work-related issues that will keep them back”, Mark sighed. “They will be here on the 8th of May. The day before”

The day before Beom’s baptism ceremony. 

Mark was disappointed, embarrassed on their behalf. Donghyuck still didn’t know much about his parents, except for the fact that they did as they pleased and Mark had no say in anything. Mark and Donghyuck had offered to pay some of their stay in Korea out of courtesy but still, they kept demanding all sorts of things and never seemed to be happy. They seemed… cold towards Donghyuck and Beom, yet still weirdly interested since they were coming over from overseas.

Donghyuck simply couldn’t understand them. Maybe he would once he had met them properly, but he wasn’t expecting much. He tried to be nice and understanding, for Mark’s sake. But he was also a bit mad for Mark’s sake because his parents seemed so… disinterested. Mark had called them after Beom’s birth and they had basically told him to call later since they were busy. As though it wasn’t one of the most important days in their son’s life.

The one thing that Mark’s parents seemed to actually be interested in was the Christian upbringing of the child.

Donghyuck honestly had no opinion on religion. He hadn’t been raised exactly religious. But if Mark wanted to baptize Beom then he was fine with that as long as the religion didn’t make the child’s life more difficult. But from what Donghyuck had seen before, for Mark, religion wasn’t a cage or an extra weight on him - it was safety and peace of mind.

Mark had held his hand before when he had prayed for their future. He had pressed his hand on Donghyuck’s stomach and closed his eyes, and sometimes he did it just randomly, as though he could talk to someone greater like that. When they had been in the hospital and the situation had looked bad, Mark had grabbed Donghyuck's hands and taught him a prayer that he hoped would help.

Sometimes Donghyuck wished that he could believe in something too. It might make him feel calmer too, if he believed that there was something beyond. If Beom could get even a piece of that strong belief that pushed Mark forward and calmed his heart in the most miserable of moments then, Donghyuck wanted him to have it. Everyone grew up believing in something. If Beom could grow up believing that there was something that was going to save him in the end, how could he deny something like that from him?

Mark's parents seemed to have some very strong opinions on how that should be done though. And they were different from Mark's. Yet again, Donghyuck didn't know details but he knew that it stressed Mark out.

“Hey”, Donghyuck touched Mark’s cheek softly. “It’s okay. We’ll meet them the night before and then have the baptism ceremony the next day. It’s going to be alright”

“Yeah”, Mark nodded and leaned against his hand a bit. “It can’t be that bad”

...

The following week, Donghyuck honestly didn’t have much time to stress over their arrival. Neither of them had. Their lives were filled, packed up with responsibility and getting used to the regular life as parents. And students.

Maybe it was stupid, but Donghyuck was still taking classes online. He wanted to graduate in time, or half a year later max - Beom wasn't going to be a baby forever, he needed things, money, and Donghyuck had to have a job by the time he went to school. Not a part-time job, not a trainee position, an actual job.  
Mark was studying and working simultaneously. Classes in the morning, storage work, and customer service at night. He often came home when Beom was fast asleep, and Donghyuck was hanging on the edge of consciousness, lying in bed or sitting by the window. Mark kissed his cheek and went to shower, and Donghyuck massaged his shoulders a little as they spent maybe fifteen minutes to talk about their day before they both passed out.

Mark was doing his part, he was working himself to the bone and the least Donghyuck could do was focus on their son. If only he hadn't been born in the middle of his midterm exam period.

"You're being crazy", Sohyun commented from where she was, holding Beom while Donghyuck tried to finish his essay in the living room one afternoon. "Can't you just message your professor and say, hey, I gave birth a week ago, can you give me a longer deadline?"

"It was through a long fight that I got to finish this course as an essay rather than an exam on campus", Donghyuck scratched his hair and slammed one of his four sourcebooks shut. He wasn't going to need the theory anymore, it was all about his own thoughts from now on. Donghyuck was good at that, just talking shit for three pages and he would be done. 

"Why couldn't you just take a year off then"

"And then I would pay for Beom's life... how, exactly?" 

Sohyun just looked down at the child. She didn't know a better way. No one knew. There was no better way. Donghyuck was so lucky that he could at least ask for help from his family every now and then, he couldn't focus on the bad things too much. 

Studying while his kid was sleeping? Sure, Donghyuck knew how to do that. He had been a student before, his studies were easy. But being a parent... he had no idea what to do. Neither did he know anything about what it was like being a great spouse, husband, mated omega.

Each day, he failed something.

Donghyuck tried to make dinner and failed miserably. Mark, upon coming home, just dried his tears and ordered them some pizza. He tried to study new things but ended up crying in his coursebooks because he couldn't get anything to his head.

He bled. He was in pain. And he just rolled his eyes and ignored it because he had no time to be sick. Beom needed him, and he would heal eventually. In comparison to Mark, he wasn't even doing much - taking care of a newborn who only slept? A piece of cake in theory, then why was he constantly stressed and unsure?

"It's because you're new to this", his mom commented one night when Donghyuck had been unable to get Beom to sleep. Again. His mom had just taken over and kept rocking the crying child in her arms. Donghyuck felt like crying too. Why couldn't he even do that right? "This small baby is a lot of responsibility suddenly on your young shoulders. This might not be a lot of work physically, but it definitely is mentally"

"I had months to prepare", Donghyuck sighed and looked at the floor. His father was nowhere to be seen, probably in his parents' bedroom regretting letting them stay there. Beom was calming down slowly in his mom's arms - quicker than he ever did in Donghyuck's. Donghyuck had already gotten an F on one of his courses and he was sleep-deprived and miserable. 

"Many have years, they choose the timing themselves. And still, they feel lost. No one really knows what this will be like before it's thrown on them"

"I should have known"

"And why is that?" 

Donghyuck finally looked up at his mother, who came to sit next to him on the couch. That was something that Donghyuck's mother did often - she asked difficult questions that resulted in Donghyuck thinking deeply and questioning his words. His mother never told him that he was wrong. She just asked him questions that helped him realize it himself, and understand why he had been wrong in the first place. So that he could learn not to plant toxic thought models into his head.

"I fooled around", Donghyuck said. "I should have been more careful. I don't want Beom to suffer just because I couldn't refrain from physical pleasure"

Donghyuck's mom rolled her eyes.

"Sex is natural and you were careful", she said. "You should stop bashing yourself for it."

A year ago, Donghyuck would have turned completely red and begged his mom to stop talking. But he had had multiple talks with his mom while expecting, and it wasn't like he could have pretended that he wasn't having sex while he was literally carrying. Sex was a very basic need for humans and Jungwoo had taught Donghyuck to stop being shy about it - his mom, in turn, had taught him to be mature about it.

Donghyuck's mom looked at Beom with a small smile.

"You were just so eager to be born, weren't you? Nothing was going to stop you"

Beom obviously didn't answer. And by the time he would know how to do so, discussions like these wouldn't happen around him anymore. Beom would probably realize at some point, once he was much older, that his parents' anniversary day was less than nine months before his birth and put one and one together but until then, Donghyuck wasn't going to give him any reasons to question his existence. Donghyuck was never going to give him a reason. He knew what it was like, to be lost and scared like that. Beom was never going to go through that.

"Hyuckie", Donghyuck's mom said softly and Donghyuck looked up at her. She smiled a little and touched his cheek with her free hand. "you're doing really well. All newborns scream and whine, I'd be more concerned if Beom was quiet"

"I know", did he? "It's just... a lot"

"But it will get easier", Donghyuck's mom said and looked down at the baby in her arms who had finally, _finally_ fallen asleep.

Donghyuck felt like he aged years in those two weeks. And so did Mark, if his eye bags and zombie-like movements in the mornings were anything to go by. 

And then, the 8th of May came.

...

They had agreed on meeting Mark’s parents the night before the baptism ceremony, at a restaurant. Mark had wanted to introduce Donghyuck to them properly - not just as the omega parent of his son but as his partner, he had wanted them to be able to talk and get to know each other without the child in their arms all the time.

Donghyuck was stressed. He hadn’t been separated from his newborn for more than a couple of hours yet, he didn’t know how the child would react to him being away. Jaemin had volunteered to take him for the night and Donghyuck was thankful - he was an omega, someone that Donghyuck would trust with his life. But still, _still,_ he felt nervous about it.

Beom had been a part of his life, inseparably, for ten months. Donghyuck found it hard to be without him. His friends had volunteered, many times, to take Beom out of his hands so that he could rest properly but Donghyuck had refused every time. 

But for Mark’s sake, he could do it. It was just one family dinner.

So, that was why he found himself borrowing (stealing) Sohyun's full body mirror and dragging it to his room instead, on Friday night.

The restaurant they were going to go to was a fancy one, and Donghyuck had to put a lot of thought into his appearance, to make a good impression. Dress codes were clear cut between males and females but, since he was something a bit special, the rules applying to him were different as well. Male omegas were supposed to be separated from male betas and alphas by color, instead of the type of clothes. He wasn’t going to wear a dress, obviously, but not a black suit either.

White was the color of male omegas. The male omega suits were also cut slightly differently, but the main point was white. There was also something called the noble metal hierarchy where alphas were expected to wear gold, betas silver and omegas platinum. Omegas married to alphas were also allowed to wear gold on special occasions but… those rules were pretty much left in history since everyone wanted gold nowadays - it was the prettiest one after all. 

Still. Donghyuck took out a simple chain necklace of platinum from one of his drawers. It was a gift from his parents when he had presented - people often still got presentation gifts with those specific noble metals but otherwise, the old traditions regarding them were tossed aside.

“Are you almost done?” Mark asked as he stepped in. He was wearing his dark suit, the one he had bought for their small-scale wedding mere months ago. He still looked as amazing as he had, with his jet black hair combed away from his forehead. The ring in his left ring finger caught the table light and shined brightly, and to be honest, that was one of Donghyuck’s favorite parts about his outfit.

“Almost”, Donghyuck looked at him through the mirror. “Can you put this on me?”

“Sure”, Mark walked behind him and took the necklace from his hands. Donghyuck hadn’t cut his hair in a while so it had grown quite long, Mark had to move it a bit to see. Donghyuck felt Mark’s fingers brush against his neck as he closed the lock. The necklace was very simplified, a good fit for a male omega without it being too feminine.

Their eyes met in the mirror. The past few weeks had gone by crazy fast, Donghyuck felt like he had barely even seen Mark, since they had both been so busy. The dark circles were like another matching item that they had, along with the rings - Donghyuck had tried very hard to hide his with foundation, but they were still very visible. 

Mark looked at him for a few seconds and smiled. It was one of his damn attractive half-smiles, almost a smirk. 

“You look amazing”, he said quietly and pressed a kiss on Donghyuck’s neck, near his collarbones. Donghyuck sighed and leaned back - the neckline to his white shirt was quite big and the light fabric hugged his frame softly, unlike Mark’s tight and tailored black suit. The alpha was obviously nervous, he felt tense already and they weren’t even outside yet.

“Thank you”, Donghyuck just answered. “You do, too”

“Thanks”, Mark murmured against his skin. In comparison to the past few months that they had spent together, they both looked like supermodels now. They had both been too tired to put in any effort lately, and they had learned to know each other in long johns and stained hoodies with messy hair and messy skin. Mark had been so tired with his work that he had even forgotten to shave and it had resulted in him having a dark shadow on his face most of the time. Donghyuck had thought that it was hot. Now, though, his face was extremely soft and smooth, he didn't even have any spots.

Donghyuck envied him. Even the thick cover of BB-cream on his own face didn't result in similar softness.

The moment was over way too soon. But it was just long enough to calm them both down, and give them the energy they needed to pick up their child and drive to the Na household.

The moment that the front door was opened to them, however, another storm flew over them. 

“Are you seriously going to meet your inlaws looking like _that_?” Jaemin gasped. “Donghyuck!”

“What?” He asked, getting defensive immediately upon hearing his tone. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Your _hair_ ”, Jaemin rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm to pull him inside. “We need to do something about it!”

“We don’t have time, we need to- agh, _slow_ _down_ , Jaemin!”

“You have a reservation at seven, there’s almost an hour before it!” Jaemin insisted and Donghyuck struggled to kick off his shoes while being pulled deeper into the house. “This will only take a sec!”

Donghyuck glanced at Mark who was still standing by the door, holding Beom, looking confused. Donghyuck shot him an apologetic smile before he was pulled behind a corner.

“A married omega should never go to such an official event with their hair open”, Jaemin complained as he pushed Donghyuck to sit in front of his dressing mirror and started combing his hair. “These are basics Hyuck!”

“I’m not just any omega, I’m a male omega”, Donghyuck rolled his eyes but no longer fought back. He figured that they would be done faster if he just obliged. And besides, even if Donghyuck doubted him now, Jaemin was usually right when it came to fashion etiquette. He should be listened to, especially when he was this insistent.

“Yeah but your hair looks like a bird’s nest. Or a lion’s mane at best”, Jaemin turned his hairbrush upside down to part Donghyuck’s hair with the sharper end. “This hairstyle isn’t appropriate at all”

“But you said you liked it before”, Donghyuck pouted and then winced in pain when Jaemin started pulling his hair.

“It fits your personality, sure, but this is official. Don’t whine, you big baby, I’m doing you a huge favor here”

Donghyuck grimaced but said nothing. He could fight with Jaemin all night or he could just suck it up so that he worked faster.

When they had both been at school, Jaemin had sometimes enjoyed doing the hair of the girls in their class. Jaemin had been charming girls left and right despite his status, he had always been popular outside of their small circle of friends too and he could often be found between the girls, hanging out beside the soccer field, gossiping and braiding each other’s hair. Like a monkey herd in all of those nature documentaries that Renjun liked to watch. 

The benches beside the football field had also been a good place to peek at the alphas and betas of the soccer team. Or the track and field team. Jeno had been weirdly interested in both from middle school up too which had been… interesting. Donghyuck had sometimes joined the herd, and he admitted that he had enjoyed the atmosphere when he was in the right mood. But he had rarely let Jaemin touch his hair.

_"You would look so nice, with some pear flowers here and here", Jaemin had brushed his hair on a spring day when he finally had. "Right, girls?"_

_The girls had agreed. They always agreed with Jaemin._

_"Thanks but no thanks. I have some dignity left", Donghyuck had rolled his eyes but let Jaemin play. The uniform code didn't let him outgrow it much, but it was just long enough for Jaemin to have some fun with it when all the girls had already been braided._

_"What dignity, pfft", Jaemin had chuckled. "You are dating Sunwoo, aren't you"_

_"I'm NOT", Donghyuck had blushed at that. "besides, he hates girly stuff"_

_"Flowers aren't GiRLy StUfF, they are PLANTS", Jaemin had mocked his voice. "You and your toxic masculinity. Keep that up and Sunwoo will realize that you're more of a man than he is"_

Sunwoo had. That was why they had never really become a thing, nothing beyond a couple of hookups. The alpha had lost his shit when he had realized that Donghyuck was a centimeter taller than him, and because his own alpha was so fragile, he had dumped him.

So immature and silly. Donghyuck wondered, how he must be doing now. It wasn't like he cared all that much though.

Anyway, he didn’t mind Jaemin putting whatever he needed to, in his hair now. If Jaemin deemed it _that_ important, then it probably was.

Jaemin was fast, indeed. The pulling resulted in tight French braids that held all of his wild hair in place and… looked pretty too, and they matched his white, innocent-looking outfit nicely. Better than his open mess of hair had. Not that Donghyuck would ever admit it to Jaemin.

“Thanks”, he only said through his teeth. The braids were tight, he was pretty sure that he would get a headache at some point. But beauty was pain, wasn't it? “Can I go now?”

“Sure”, Jaemin smiled, looking very satisfied with himself. How annoying. He patted Donghyuck's shoulders before letting him go. “Go win them over!”

When they got back to the living room, Mark had made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, scrolling through his phone while holding Beom on his other arm. He looked up upon their arrival and his eyes widened.

“Now _this_ is a spouse you should be proud to show off”, Jaemin smiled and hit Donghyuck’s back. Donghyuck cursed and hit him back, but Jaemin just smiled infuriatingly and walked past him to pick up the baby from Mark’s arms. Mark stood up and Donghyuck headed to the door, to put on his shoes. Jaemin had taken eight minutes out of their schedule. He had counted each and every one. 

And still... his stomach sunk when he realized that it was time to say goodbye.

"If anything comes up, call me right away", Donghyuck said and laid his hand on Beom's head. The child was calm, still, thank god. Donghyuck didn't know if he would be able to leave him behind if he was crying. 

"Yeah yeah. Don't worry, we are going to have so much fun, right Beomie?" Jaemin blabbered to the baby and took one of his hands, to wave with it softly. “Alright, say bye to dada and appa, Beomie! Bbye byee!"

Jaemin's aegyo was infuriating as always but Beom looked cute in his arms. Donghyuck knew that he could trust him. So, when Jaemin closed the front door, Donghyuck had little trouble turning around. 

Some trouble, yes. But not so much that it kept him from moving.

Beom was in good hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (hands up if you agree that it was such a SHAME that we never got to see Haechan's long hair braided. Maybe he'll grow it out again. I'm usually not that enthusiastic about long hair on male idols but damn, he looked amazing)
> 
> I didn't know where to cut the chapter, this isn't the best possible ending but whatEVER, I couldn't come up with anything better either. Sorry if this chapter, AS WELL, feels somewhat boring. The start feels like it's dragging on and on but NOW, we're moving forward faster! Can't wait to continue the story in the next chapter! Have a great day everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to publish this like a day ago but then my internet failed me seconds before I hit 'post' so I lost many things I had written and I was kinda angry. But I'm here now, yayy
> 
> A few things about my update schedule - it might stay irregular like this for a while. Because for the first time in a long while, something great happened to me. I got offered a chance I was almost certain I had blown and now, I'll be quite busy for a few months, making a very big dream come true. So, yeah, I'm sorry, but at the same time, very happy to tell you that for once, the chapters are not late because I'm not doing well - the chapters are late because I'm enjoying my life outside of my bedroom for the first time in years.
> 
> Then, a few words about this chapter - it was a very important one for the story and for me personally. And I rewrote it so many times that I lost count. There are some scenes that I really like, and some that I hate. And it's very long. So... okay, I'm never fully satisfied, but just know that if you see something infuriating or something that you don't like, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. I'm always happy to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Alright, let's go!

It was okay all the way until they pulled to the restaurant parking lot. Mark stopped the engine but didn't get out, and neither did Donghyuck. The alpha tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, and his anxiety filled the small, dark space. Not even the lights of the advertisements seemed to reach them anymore, it was just darkness, as though they were underwater.

And Donghyuck still couldn't understand why. Mark had been the one who had wanted to do this. They could have just met the couple briefly, in a more comfortable environment, but Mark had wanted to make it special. And now he was nervous.

It felt suffocating. And Donghyuck wasn't having it. So, he got up first. He walked around the car fast and as Mark got out too, Donghyuck caught his wrist before the alpha managed to start walking. Mark had to let some of that anxiety out if he wanted to be calm and collected with his parents.

Donghyuck ran his hands up Mark's arms, then his shoulders and finally, his hands cupped the alpha's face. Mark followed his hands with his eyes, wondering what he was about to do. Until he figured it out, quite late. That was how clouded his head was. 

“We’re in a hurry”, he protested, but Donghyuck just rolled his eyes.

“Not in that much of a hurry”, he said and pushed Mark against the car so that he could press his lips against him. Mark was tense, and it made Donghyuck tense too. He was generally good under pressure but if Mark kept giving him these crazy amounts of it, he didn’t know how to deal with it. To put it simpler, Donghyuck was good at avoiding stress. But once the stress was finally there, he wasn’t that great at dealing with it.

Mark relaxed into the kiss a bit, although it took a short while. Donghyuck wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him closer, as though he could somehow suck the negative feelings out of him right there, at the very small, public parking lot. Blow away the grey clouds, letting him breathe again.

Maybe he should have sucked him off at the back of the car. That would have certainly made him relax. Too bad he hadn't brought a toothbrush - he doubted Mark's parents would have appreciated it if he showed up smelling like he had just given their son a blowjob. Donghyuck wasn’t that shameless and he wanted to make a good first impression too.

“You’ve got this”, Donghyuck whispered when he finally pulled away. “It’s just your parents. They bore and raised you into this wonderful man who has done nothing wrong. This isn’t an interrogation. This is just dinner. Alright?”

“Alright”, Mark didn’t look like he agreed, but he kept nodding, as though he could convince them both that way. “We can do this”

Donghyuck patted his shoulder and took his hand. Mark took a deep, long breath and once he opened his eyes again, he had a lot more confidence in him. He straightened his back and started leading them to the restaurant.

Yeah, it was just dinner. What could go wrong?

Um. 

Apparently  _ everything. _

The moment they stepped inside, Donghyuck felt the hairs at the back of his neck shot up. An older couple was waiting by the counter, looking displeased. And familiar.

“Good evening mom, dad”, Mark bowed and Donghyuck followed. It felt way too formal, and at that moment he was happy that Jaemin had decided to braid his hair. The uncomfortably tight hairstyle fit the atmosphere perfectly, keeping him awake and alert.

It was so different from what it had been like with Donghyuck's parents. Their first supper together had just been pizza, they had all sat around in their living room wearing whatever, and talking over the cheesy drama running on TV at the moment. Donghyuck knew that Mark had been nervous then, trying his best to sit straight and answer very politely, formally, but Donghyuck’s family had treated him like one of their own right away.

Even if they had met at a similar, fancy restaurant, Donghyuck doubted it would have been as strict. His mom would have hugged Mark right away and tried to assure him that he wouldn’t have to be so formal with her. Same couldn’t be said about Mark’s parents.

To think that Mark had been afraid that  _ his _ parents were too 'Americanized and chill'... Oh well, maybe they just warmed up slowly, maybe they were still feeling the effects of the jet lag. 

“Isn’t pure white the color of virgins?” Mark’s mother said almost immediately after their proper introductions. Donghyuck didn't know how to interpret her question - was she judging him? Ah, Donghyuck should try to see the best in them even if he expected bad things. So, he just smiled at the woman.

“I believe the standard color rules are less strict now than they used to be”, he said, using polite language and everything. “White is still the male omega color"

“Mmh, maybe”, Mark’s mother didn’t argue, but the way she said it while eyeing Donghyuck up and down like a piece of meat didn’t really calm his mind either. Great. Donghyuck hadn’t been expecting much, but… okay, whatever, it couldn’t be that bad. The woman had plenty of smile wrinkles on her face despite only being in her late forties - they must have come from somewhere.

They were led to a table and the first drinks were served. The waitress recommended them some wines but Donghyuck passed, as did Mark's mother. But both Mark and his father took big glasses of the offered red wine. Mark took a sip and seemed to relax, while Mark's father seemed to only become tenser.

“So. Lee Beom”, Mark’s father said after he had taken a couple more sips, as though he was the one trying to gain some confidence. He didn't ask how they were doing, he didn't do any small talk, but instead jumped right into the subject of their grandkid. “Is that final?”

“Yes, it is”, Mark answered. “We’ve already registered him under that name”

“Alright”, the man didn’t seem to have a problem with that, at least. “What about his Christian name?”

Ah, the Christian stuff. The _ only important stuff. _

“We were thinking about Matthew”

When Mark said 'we', he actually just meant himself. He had done the work, researching the names and suggesting them to Donghyuck. Honestly, Donghyuck had liked every name that Mark did, so he had left the job for him. Since Donghyuck wasn't exactly religious, he didn't feel that strongly towards it.

It was different for Mark, who was literally using his Christian name in his everyday life. It had taken Donghyuck embarrassingly long to realize that  _ Mark _ wasn't Mark's name in his passport.

_ "Minhyung?" He had gasped and stolen Mark's passport from his hands. It had been back in summer when Mark had been packing before flying back to America. Donghyuck had noticed him checking his passport absentmindedly, and seen the letters in it. "Your name is Lee Minhyung?" _

_ "Yeah, I told you before, didn't I? That I have a Korean name" _

_ "You told me you have a Korean name, not that Mark was just your American name!"  _

_ Donghyuck stared at the very Korean name written with a Latin alphabet, as though it could somehow change if he glared at it hard enough. "I'm literally carrying your child and I didn't even know your real name" _

_ "You do. It's Mark", Mark snatched his passport back and threw it into his backpack. "No one calls me Minhyung, except my grandparents when they're angry. Even my mom only ever calls me Mark - the reason why I'm registered as Minhyung here is that my grandparents insisted on it. They were worried that I would forget my roots otherwise" _

_ "Okay, that... kind of makes sense", in a twisted, concerned-Asian-grandparents-way. Donghyuck still crossed his arms in front of his chest though. "I still feel like it's a very personal thing that I wasn't aware of" _

_ "Okay, I'm sorry, I honestly never even think about it", Mark shrugged. "I did ask you to use it though, back in New York. And you refused right away" _

_ "Ah, right, because I didn't want to call you hyung", Donghyuck nodded. He remembered that. "Could you imagine me calling you hyung now?" _

_ "Oh, god, no", Mark shook his head. "Never" _

It was just a name. But once Donghyuck had discovered it, he had realized that there must be a lot about Mark's past that maybe Mark himself hadn't thought of telling him but which still were important. Something that to him, didn't feel like it needed to be told. But Donghyuck wanted to know, he needed to, there were great chunks of Mark's personality hidden there. Parts of his story.

Looking at his parents on the other side of the table, Donghyuck slowly started to understand some… finer details.

“Mmh, that is a very masculine name”, Mark's father furrowed his brows a little. “You should really take his sub-gender into account too, before making such decisions. Do you know what he is going to be yet?”

“Sir”, Donghyuck joined the discussion with a polite tone. “Beom isn’t even a month old yet, we couldn’t possibly-”

“Yeah, I know that, but have you tested him?” Mark’s father brushed him off. “We did that to both of our sons. Mark, we talked about this, didn’t we?”

Tested.  _ Tested?  _ Donghyuck turned towards Mark to get some sort of clarification for his wonder but Mark was only staring at his dad, with a stern look on his face. And Donghyuck knew what they meant.

There was indeed such a thing called sub-gender tests. Even before a child presented, his sub gender could be determined by a series of tests. Donghyuck had heard about them, but he had never heard of anyone having one done - they were almost illegal in South Korea. Some people might get it done when they were nearing puberty if they suspected that something might be going wrong in their development, but other than that, they weren’t done.

There were several reasons for it, the biggest one being that the people still believed that nature should have the power to decide when a child was old enough to start carrying the role and responsibilities of their sub-gender. Since it was so tightly linked to their sexual maturity, it was widely believed that assigning sub genders to children who didn’t understand sex and reproduction nor sexuality was highly damaging. In nature, people had grown in packs where children grew together despite their sub genders. Alpha and beta males were raised similarly, and the same went for beta and omega girls. Omega males were a question mark but they were often raised with other boys - nature needed all those people to be raised that way. It had a plan, and that should be respected.

That was how it was supposed to be. People were not supposed to poke at sub genders before nature was ready. Definitely not as early as when the children were just babies. It wasn’t right.

And the other reason was that the tests were complicated. A simple blood test wouldn’t cut it since the sub-gender was almost non-existent in babies - it grew over time, it was malleable and each sub-gender had its own indicators that were hard to distinguish before puberty. Sub gender tests included several blood tests, check-ups of the person’s genitals (if they would be able to form a knot), and often also an ultrasound (to distinguish omega males from others). For a small child, such a series of tests was tiring and for a little older one, it was humiliating. It should never be done without a serious reason.

“We are not going to do that to Beom”, Mark answered strictly.

Mark’s mother sighed.

“Okay, then what do we have left? He is most likely going to turn out an omega or alpha”. The woman said it as though it was a shame.

“My adoptive parents are an omega and alpha”, Donghyuck pointed out. “And they had two beta girls”

“Dear, you are forgetting something”, Mark’s mother talked to him as though he was a child she had to educate. “You are a male omega. Your kind hardly ever spawns anything but”

Donghyuck’s mouth fell open but before he managed to say anything, Mark beat him to it.

“Mother”, he said. “I told you that we are not going to talk about this."

"Yes, but your mate should know these things", Donghyuck's mother brushed him off. "After all, we should be perfectly honest with one another. A male omega is ultimately going to be a burden and we should try to avoid that"

_ Don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything. _

Donghyuck bit his tongue to the point of hurting.

"And why is that, exactly?" He just asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you noticed while you were expecting. Being an omega, male omega especially, is tragic. You can't feed your child, and I can't even imagine the kinds of wounds you got when you-"

"Mom", Mark said loudly. "What makes you think you can say something like that?!"

"You're overreacting", Mark's father reprimanded Mark immediately. "Do not use your alpha on your mother"

Donghyuck put a hand on Mark's thigh and squeezed hard, trying to get his attention. As long as they didn't make a scene, it would be alright. Mark was so tense, Donghyuck was worried. Maybe his parents were a bit… crude, but Mark had no reason to be so worried. Donghyuck wasn’t that fragile, he could deal with things like these.

"It's okay", he said, out loud for all of them to hear, trying to bring his calming omega powers in to soothe the situation. "I admit it, omega males have it harder. But I wouldn't call myself a tragedy - life is so much more than just carrying and bearing children. All those other things, omega males are able to do just fine"

Mark's parents looked like they wanted to disagree, but at that point, their food finally came and for a short while, they all focused on it.

Mark cooked the meat and served drinks like the good son that he was. Donghyuck made a couple of wraps and fed them to him. The alpha looked like he couldn't really stomach much but eating would give his body something else to do, other than just stress. Mark's parents were rude, but Donghyuck had dealt with worse. He could smile brightly for one night and not take anything to heart. If Mark did the same, they would survive with minimal damages.

“Would you like to see pictures?” Mark suggested, breaking the tense silence, and nudged Donghyuck a little. “We don’t have them printed but, we’ve taken a lot of them?”

“Sure”, Mark’s mother’s smile was tight but it looked genuine. Mark dug his phone from his pocket and shoved it to his parents who took it and inspected it. Like two middle-aged people could inspect a smartphone, they stared at it for a while and carefully scrolled through the gallery, a bit clumsy with the device which reminded Donghyuck of his own parents. 

Donghyuck could see them look up and down between the pictures and him, and he put his chopsticks down. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all, seeing the child would certainly soften them-

“There’s no way this kid is going to end up anything but a side gender”

“Side gender?” Donghyuck asked out loud, as Mark accepted the phone from his father with two hands and put it back in his pocket.

“Yes, omega or alpha”, Mark’s mother answered as though it was common knowledge. “Is he a heat child?”

Donghyuck bit his lip. That was a very intrusive question. Not that Donghyuck usually minded such questions, he was friends with Jungwoo after all, but these people… he knew nothing about them. And they didn’t know all that much about him either, other than what Mark had told them. They weren’t close.

“No”, Mark answered. “He was born out of a rut”

“Aren’t you on suppressants?” Mark’s father asked. “Haven’t I told you a million times that you shouldn’t lower your dose?”

“It was messing with my head, I haven’t used the full dose in years”, Mark answered. “And what does it even matter now?”

“You’re right, what could it matter”, the man sighed but remained tense, judging. “Nothing could be done anymore”

Donghyuck had to shove his mouth full of rice to keep himself from snapping at this old man. Why was Mark doing nothing about him? Donghyuck usually didn’t care about sub-gender hierarchy or anything, he had no problem opening his heart to alphas if he felt the need to, and this was just an old beta. 

But he was Mark’s father. Beom’s grandfather. He didn’t want to destroy everything, make them hate him. They seemed to already dislike everything that Mark and Donghyuck had created, even the child that they had been so eager to meet that they had flown to the other side of the world to see.

Mark’s parents felt like a beehive. Maybe it was better that they just… ignored the impolite comments.

They continued eating.

"So, Donghyuck, I heard you're studying humanities", Mark's mother said after a while, trying to do some small talk although she seemed like she didn't care at all. Donghyuck appreciated the effort though, as Mark and his father were speaking in hushed tones, about something Donghyuck understood nothing about. "On a break now, I assume?"

"Actually, I'm still studying full time. I moved to Seoul Cyber"

"Oh", the woman didn't seem impressed. "With an infant around? Are you sure that it's wise?"

Maybe not actually. But it wasn’t like he was going to admit it to these people who already judged them.

"There aren't that many options for us", Donghyuck smiled. "The quicker I graduate, the better"

"Oh, sure, one of you has to work", Mark's father joined their discussion and pointed a harsh stare at his son. "Isn't that right?"

"I have a job, dad"

"Hardly", the man shook his head. "You aren't just playing house, the world is a very cold place and you should prepare for it. How are you going to pay for your child's college if you don't even have a proper job? You are making your fragile mate do everything for you. He might be a man but you are forgetting that he is an omega"

"Mark isn't-"

"I get it, dad", Mark cut Donghyuck off. "I know that I'm incomplete. But this is the best we can do now"

"But is your best good enough?" Mark's father continued. "Some club beats are not going to feed your family"

"Mark is really good at what he does!" Donghyuck answered him instead. "He has already made connections and his grades are really good!"

Mark's father didn't look impressed. Donghyuck started to wonder if the couple was even capable of showing emotions on their faces.

"Some silly dreams are not going to last", he said. "There is a time and place for everything, but since you are married with a kid, you should understand the realities"

"We do", Donghyuck insisted. Who did these people think they were, lecturing them? Donghyuck had heard it all and more, from random strangers of the neighborhood, but it was another thing coming from Mark’s parents. They were the only people he wanted to convince, for Mark’s sake. "I stay at home, Mark goes to school and work, we have arranged everything well"

"Have you?" Mark's mom joined. "Honey, you look very tired"

"Woah", Donghyuck couldn't bite his tongue in time. "I don't know how that has anything to do with this"

"I'm just afraid that you might not be ready", she continued. "You are both... unstable. It's not too late to consider... other options"

Donghyuck blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Was the woman really saying what he thought she was saying?

"There are no other options", Mark said strictly. "We are perfectly capable of doing this"

"A sign of maturity is being able to make painful decisions for the wellbeing of others", Mark's father said like a robot, and turned to Donghyuck. "Considering your background, I'm sure you understand. What your omega father did... was somewhat similar"

Donghyuck blinked. Again.

“It has nothing to do with this”

"Maybe not, but he recognized his flaws and made a very unselfish decision. That is... admirable, although everything leading to that point was just his own stupidity. I see that the apple doesn’t fall that far from the tree"

Donghyuck's mouth fell open.

Mark raised his voice.

"You are crossing the line", he said. "This isn’t why we invited you here. You can't talk to my mate like that"

"You have no right to use your alpha voice on your parents", Mark's father said strictly. "This is exactly why I told you to stick to your medication. I told you that you would ruin your life otherwise, didn’t I? Now look at you”

The way that Mark always seemed to wither when his father addressed him was weird, as much as it was infuriating to Donghyuck. Mark's parents had passed that long ago, not caring about it at all. And Mark wasn’t really doing anything about it.

"Is that why you are like this again?" Mark's father continued. "Irrational. This is not how a husband and a father should act"

"I'm… I’m sorry, dad”

Donghyuck's eyes widened as he looked at Mark. He was seriously apologizing to this man? About… about ruining his life?

With Donghyuck. Being with Donghyuck had ruined his life. Right. Or course. 

"After all this time, still", Mark's father drank the rest of his wine and sighed as his glass hit the table hard. “I don’t know why I expected anything else”

Mark was almost trembling next to Donghyuck, and he couldn’t understand why. Yeah, these people were his parents, but why did they have so much power over him? Unless… oh, no. There were way too many things that Donghyuck hadn’t known about.

_ It’s just been a while since I’ve met my parents, that’s all. _

Yeah, right. There weren’t that many things that chased people out of their homes at fifteen.

He should have known. Donghyuck should have been a better partner, he should have been able to read the signs.

“What exactly did you come here to do?” Donghyuck couldn’t help himself from asking. “What do you want from us?”

“We came to meet our grandchild”, he said. “To make sure that you are not ruining the new generation with your immaturity”

“We are  _ not- _ ”

“Don’t talk back to me, omega”, Mark’s father snapped and Donghyuck froze. He was rarely treated like that - no, he was  _ never _ treated like that because of his sub-gender. That was _ low. _ “It’s because of your inability to control your flesh that you are at this point. I told my son to stay away from omegas, for this exact reason”

“You have no right to treat us like this”, Mark spoke with a lot of alpha in his voice. Frightened and scared alpha, but still alpha. However, Donghyuck didn’t feel any safer. “If I had known that you have nothing good to say then I wouldn’t have let you come”

“What did you expect, son? That we would come here to stroke your hair and tell you that everything is going to be alright?” the man scoffed. “You need someone to pull you back from the clouds since apparently, there is no adult here to do so. What you two are doing has serious consequences, and I may have failed in raising you but god forbid, this innocent child here shouldn’t suffer because of it”

It seemed to go on and on and on.

It was ridiculous. When Donghyuck looked back at it afterward, all he could do was shake his head. They should have dismissed the couple at the first insult. But Donghyuck stayed, because of Mark. He kept his mouth shut, because of Mark.

Yet, it hadn’t been the right thing to do.

Not at all.

...

Donghyuck headed to the male bathroom, not caring about the glances he got when people smelled his scent and saw his outfit. He looked masculine enough, he didn’t care.

He didn’t care about anything but Mark.

And he found him right away, leaning against the sink, shaking.

“Mark!” He immediately rushed to his side and touched him. Mark jumped a little and Donghyuck pulled his hand away - the alpha’s eyes were bloodshot and he looked terrified, breathing fast. Donghyuck felt his heart skip a beat. What was he supposed to do?

“Hey”, he tried to speak softly, although this reaction made him feel a bit terrified too. He felt like something was choking him - and the feeling must be overwhelming for Mark if even he could feel it so strongly. “Are you alright? Can I touch you?”

Mark just nodded and Donghyuck put his hand on his back again. He obviously wasn’t alright. He was tense as a bow, holding the edges of the sink his knuckles white. Donghyuck rubbed his back.

“I’m s- sorry”, Mark managed to get out. “I- didn’t m- mean to-”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it”, Donghyuck pulled him a little closer and didn’t care at all about the alphas and betas passing them, throwing confused glances towards them. He enveloped Mark into his own scent in an attempt to calm him down. He didn’t know what was going on between him and his parents but, he didn’t need to know at that point - all he needed to know was how to get Mark better again.

“What do you need?” He whispered. “Should I pay the bill and drive them away?”

Mark hung his head, leaning on the sink heavily, obviously fighting with himself. Donghyuck rubbed his tense shoulders and pressed a kiss to his nape - there was nothing sexual about it, it was just a way for him to break into Mark’s clouded head and tell him that he was there.

Donghyuck was there with him, Mark was safe. He would take care of this.

“Okay”, Mark said weakly, and the pain in his voice twisted Donghyuck’s heart. He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, giving Mark one last hug. 

“Will you be fine if I go?” he hated the idea but if they took too long, his father might come look for them and that would only make it so much worse. “I’ll come get you once they’re gone”

Mark nodded weakly and Donghyuck pressed one more kiss on his neck. Before he managed to go though, Mark grabbed his arm.

“Don’t make them angry”, he whispered. “You can’t… I don’t want them to hurt you”

“I promise you, I won’t”, Donghyuck pressed one last kiss on his cheek and let go. He left his heart there with him, hoping that it would keep him safe when he got out to take care of the nasty stuff. He didn’t fear for a second that his parents would hurt him - still, Donghyuck kept his words in mind.

Mark’s parents stood up when they saw him arrive.

“I would like to ask you to leave”, he said in the most polite way he could. It came out harsh, but at least he was using polite language and gestures so he couldn't be blamed for being disrespectful. Although he would really really like to be, that didn’t fit the situation at hand. Not at all. “We will cover your stay, as promised, but now it’s time for you to head out”

“This is getting ridiculous”, Mark’s father rolled his eyes and stared at Donghyuck with a stale look on his face. “Where’s my son? In the bathroom?”

He took a step towards the bathrooms but Donghyuck stepped in front of him.

“Excuse me, sir, but what part of  _ get out _ do you not understand?”

“Don’t use that tone on me”, the man reprimanded him and Donghyuck lifted his chin to appear taller. Mark’s father wasn’t very tall himself, they could see eye to eye, and Donghyuck wasn’t fazed by any status differences that there were. This was his country, his home, they were his quests - they were about to do as he said, period. Especially because they were causing such agitation to his spouse.

“He is overreacting. One would think he would have grown up”, Mark’s mother muttered, and although she wasn’t nearly as aggressive as her husband, Donghyuck felt anger grow in his chest anyway. Overreacting? Mark never overreacted, on the contrary, he kept his feelings to himself and only ever reacted when he had no other choice. He rarely showed his anger and sadness. He was the perfect opposite to Donghyuck who kept blowing up here and there, and Mark kept collecting the pieces.

Mark might not be able to tell people to fuck off. But to Donghyuck, that came more than easily.

Mark’s father took another step towards the bathroom but Donghyuck stamped his foot,  stepping so close to the greying man that they were mere centimeters apart.

“One more step and I’m going to scream”, Donghyuck whispered, loudly enough for the woman to hear as well.

Scream. In a fine restaurant filled with important people, couples and families, and businessmen. Yeah, Donghyuck would do it in a heartbeat if it prevented any further pain for Mark. 

He was a young omega, wearing the traditional white attire. A fresh parent, anyone could smell it on him. They could see it from his still soft stomach. This man was an old beta. If Donghyuck screamed, it would look very bad for the beta. And he realized it too.

Donghyuck pointed towards the door. The beta had fire in his eyes but he no longer moved. Donghyuck could see some of Mark’s features on him - his pointy nose, small face, crazy hair. But none of that looked attractive on a man as disgusting as him.

“This is exactly why I never wanted a male omega to our family”, the man finally said. “You are like poison, you never learn your place”

“Honey”, the woman came to her senses and touched her husband’s arm. “Let’s not cause a scene"

As though they already hadn’t. The man held Donghyuck’s stare for a couple more seconds until he moved.

“Right, dear, I think we’re done here”

Donghyuck didn’t say anything as he watched the two gather their stuff and just go, not even bothering to wear their jackets before exiting the restaurant.

“Excuse me”, a waitress walked up to him, obviously having seen the exchange but not having a clue what it had been about. “Is everything alright here?”

Donghyuck wore his best smile and turned to her. The couple had left through the front door, that conflict had been resolved.

“Yes, brilliant”, he smiled at her. “I’d like to have the bill, please”

…

Mark had calmed down a lot by the time Donghyuck finally got to the bathroom again. And when he heard that his parents had left and that they were long gone, he calmed down even more. 

He didn’t protest at all when Donghyuck ordered him to the passenger seat and sat down to drive himself.

Donghyuck had gotten his licence in spring. He had never intended on getting one but he had realized that as a parent, it would come in handy when he had to drive around town to take Beom everywhere, and he didn’t want to always have to rely on Mark to do the driving for him. He was still a bit nervous when driving but he had passed all of his exams (the driving one, he had needed to try a couple of times but he had a license now, and that was all that mattered). He was good enough to think of something else as well while doing so.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked carefully. Mark had been quiet ever since getting out of the restaurant. Donghyuck didn’t know exactly how to comfort him, nor did he know how to make anything better. He tried to approach Mark the way that the alpha always approached him. Carefully. 

Donghyuck had never been the careful one in their relationship, it had always been Mark’s part. But he could learn, for his sake.

Mark took a deep breath. He seemed to be contemplating, whether to tell or how to tell him about all of it. Donghyuck could sense that he was embarrassed too, but Donghyuck telling him that it was fine was not going to make it better. He had to show it with his actions. 

“Can we go get Beom?” Mark finally asked quietly. “I feel like having him near would… Yeah”

“Of course”, that was exactly what Donghyuck had wanted to do as well. Being separated from his kid was driving him crazy and although Jaemin had said that he could have him overnight, no problem… Donghyuck had never intended for that to actually happen. He couldn’t imagine being away from him for an entire night. No, no.

He drove to Jaemin’s driveway and texted him. It was late, Beom should be sleeping, and terrifying him with a doorbell would not be a good idea.

So, when they both got to the door, he only knocked softly. Jaemin answered the door quickly.

“Hey”, he smiled a little but hesitated a bit after seeing Mark who was… well, he wasn’t exactly hiding behind Donghyuck, but he didn’t want to show off his bloodshot eyes either. “Did it go… well?”

“Could have been better”, Donghyuck sighed. It wasn’t exactly Jaemin’s business, the things that had happened between Donghyuck, Mark, and his parents, but it was natural to ask. They could talk about it later, if Mark felt up to it, or maybe not. Jaemin understood and just nodded.

“Yeah, um, Beom is sleeping. I’ll go get him, just a sec”

The omega wobbled inside, stumbling over a pair of sneakers that Donghyuck immediately recognized. They weren’t Jaemin’s. 

How  _ interesting. _

“Here”, Jaemin whispered when he handed the child over. It wasn’t terribly cold and Beom was wrapped in a blanket, he would be fine if they took him to the car and then back inside quickly. Donghyuck immediately felt better seeing him, but he handed him over to Mark in favour of taking the backpack that Jaemin was handing him.

“I fed him, cleaned him up, and he has been sleeping for a short while now”, Jaemin whispered. Beom was, thank god, a heavy sleeper for a newborn. Mark held him against himself and breathed deeply, even the last bits of his anxiety melting away upon seeing his child again. It was such a magical thing to see, Donghyuck almost forgot that Jaemin was there at all.

“Ah, yeah, right”, he nodded and threw the backpack to his back. “Thank you, Jaemin”

“It was no problem”, the omega smiled. “I’d take Beom over Gaeun and Haneul any day. Just, don’t tell Jungwoo hyung that”

“I won’t. Goodnight, Nana”, Donghyuck stepped away from the door, but then glanced towards the shoes in the hallway, again. “Oh, and tell Jeno I said hi”

Jaemin blushed immediately, but he knew that there was no way he could deny it either.

“I will”

…

“Thank you”, Mark muttered as Donghyuck handed him the cup of tea. They had put Beom to sleep, showered, and were now back in Donghyuck’s room. They were wearing fluffy socks and hoodies, comfortable clothing again, after those stupid formal clothes. Donghyuck had also opened the crazy tight braids and he felt like himself again. Maybe he really should just cut his hair. That would save him a lot of trouble.

Donghyuck was wearing the same green hoodie that Mark had borrowed him back in New York. He had claimed it as his own immediately after seeing Mark unpack it when he had moved, and it was now one of his favorite pieces of clothing. 

“Are you feeling better?” Donghyuck asked. He had made the alpha drink plenty of water - in between his continuing stream of apologies that Donghyuck had brushed off - and he was sorry that he hadn’t been able to feed him anything better than tea. But it was still better than nothing. Mark didn’t look like he had much of an appetite but he had barely eaten anything the whole day.

Of course, Donghyuck had noticed. He had just been so used to Mark taking care of himself and knowing what was best for him that he hadn’t confronted him about it. He should have.

Hopefully, it wasn’t too late to do it now.

Mark nodded. 

“Yeah”, he whispered. “I… My relationship with my parents isn’t the best. I had hoped that time would smoothen the edges but I was wrong”

Donghyuck hugged him from behind. Not too hard, it was more of a way to show that he was there. He kept quiet and listened. 

“My father… I mean, it’s nothing now, it shouldn’t be since it’s been such a long time but, when I was younger, he… he yelled at me a lot. And he hit me”

Donghyuck bit his cheek and hugged Mark closer. He could say that he was sorry or that what Mark’s dad had done was wrong but he knew that the alpha knew it already. So, all he did was listen.

“My older brother is a beta. You know how they can actually take blood tests and all to determine the sub-gender of the child even before they hit puberty? Well, they did that to me”

So, Donghyuck had been right. That was exactly what Mark’s parents had been referring to.

“It isn’t as much of a taboo in the West anyway so, it wasn't that big of a deal, but… Ever since I was little, I was always treated differently. I’m the first alpha in my family for a few generations, my parents were… not sure about what to do with me and they had their prejudices about alphas and feared I would become an asshole or something. Selfish, ignorant, you know, a typical alpha. So, whenever I acted alpha or whatever, I was severely punished for it.”

_ Don't use your alpha on your mother. _

Donghyuck swallowed but stayed quiet.

“I was very sensitive growing up so it hurt me. Because it felt like showing any strong emotions was too alpha, I learned early on that there was something inherently bad in me that had to be demolished and hidden away. And then when I decided to make music instead of becoming a doctor like they wanted me to… They didn’t tell me directly but I heard them talking when they thought I couldn’t hear. About how they had failed as parents. How I had grown up to be this self-centered, stubborn alpha, who was doing everything against their wishes and leaving them behind.”

Mark wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. When had Donghyuck ever seen him cry before? Mark didn’t show strong emotions, Donghyuck had thought that it was just his style and in a way, it was, but… it might have been forced upon him, instead of him growing into it naturally. 

“That’s not fair”, Donghyuck said quietly. “No one should be treated like that”

“Yeah”, Mark nodded in agreement and took a deep breath, to regain his composure. “I’m mostly over it now. Johnny and Jaehyun have basically raised me since I was 15 and I don’t feel like I have that many scars or anything. I’ve worked on it and I’m fine. It’s just… seeing my father just brought bad memories up. I haven’t had panic attacks in years, I’m alright really.”

“You don’t have to act strong for me”, Donghyuck said, unable to hold his tongue. “You are allowed to be vulnerable with me. Your parents hurt you.”

“They did”, Mark sighed, surprisingly easily. “And I healed from that. Mostly. And I fooled around but I took responsibility, I - we - gave them a beautiful grandson and everything, I thought they could maybe warm up to me again. If not me, then Beom. But they are still looking at me like… like I’m never going to be good enough for them. And... okay, I understand why they would think like that and I respect their opi-”

“Sometimes you should just learn to say fuck them and their opinions”

_ There, great, Donghyuck. How long did it take, ten minutes tops? And there you go, screwing up and being you again. _

_ SHUT UP. _

When Mark paused with his mouth hanging slightly open, Donghyuck moved so that he could see his face better, but never untangling himself from him.

“I mean, think about it”, he tried to word his thoughts out differently. “Yes, they are your parents and they raised you and yada yada but they can be wrong too. They  _ were  _ wrong, there is nothing wrong with following your dreams or, heck, being an alpha. Maybe being a doctor and only getting married at 40 would have secured a more stable living for you but would that have made you happy? Okay, ignore that marriage part, but as for your career-”

“Nothing would have made me happier than getting together with you”, it was Mark’s turn to interrupt him and leave him speechless. Donghyuck looked up at him, and for a few seconds, they just looked at each other. Figuring out each other's feelings through their eyes only. Mark’s eye color was so much darker now that he had shed tears - fuller, deeper, Donghyuck wanted to kiss his eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, evaporate the sadness and bring back the happiness they had had just a while ago.

Because Mark deserved it. He deserved it all.

“Then they should be happy for you”, Donghyuck finally said. “But they aren’t. And that’s because they are doing their job wrong, not because you’ve done your job wrong. Understand?”

“Yeah, I understand”, Mark nodded. “Rationally, I do. But it still hurts”

Mark didn't cry anymore, but he was upset. He drank his tea slowly while Donghyuck hugged him from behind, leaning his forehead to his back. 

...

“There’s more in there, right?” Donghyuck asked after the long silence. It was late, they could have gone to sleep but Mark hadn't moved and neither had Donghyuck. Something was hanging in the air, still, waiting to be addressed. “Tell me everything. I need to know”

Well, Donghyuck didn’t need to know anything. But Mark needed someone to know, and Donghyuck was going to be that someone for him.

“From the moment I stepped in, I knew that they didn’t like me”, Donghyuck continued, prompting him to talk. “Is it because they didn’t like you getting married, or because they didn’t like it that you married me, specifically?”

Mark looked up, his expression was almost pained.

“Donghyuck-”

“Tell me”, Donghyuck insisted. “If it’s some shit about male omegas again, it's okay, nothing can hurt me anymore. I’ve heard it all already. Just tell me, this is about you and I know it bothers you.”

“It’s just”, Mark took his time looking for the right words. “My father is a very old-school kind of man. A very… There’s a movement in the west, called the ‘middle way’, that argues that in reality, alphas and omegas are only people with messed up bodies that produce too many hormones and whatnot. And that a society formed of betas only should be an ultimate goal. They have been under fire for doing the most disgusting of things, such as pressuring people to put their children on hormone treatments to avoid them developing into omegas or alphas. As though it was even possible”

Donghyuck felt even worse knowing that Mark had grown up in such a household. That was… that was like... 

“They seemed to be weirdly invested in sub-genders,” Donghyuck whispered.

“Yeah”, Mark nodded. “They fear that Beom is going to be… like me. Or you. They wanted me to marry a beta girl but unfortunately, you stepped into my life and refused to leave so here we are”

There was something cheeky, playful in the way that Mark said it and Donghyuck felt a bit lighter. He smiled and pressed a kiss to Mark’s cheek, just because he felt comfortable doing so. Mark deserved so much affection. He always had but especially now that Donghyuck knew about his shitty parents - he should shower him with love. That was the only right way.

But that would have to wait a little more.

“And?” Donghyuck continued prompting him. “I know that I’m lovely. But your parents disliked me right away - is that the reason, or would it have been the same had you married an omega girl?"

Mark sighed.

"You're not letting this go before I speak, are you?"

Donghyuck shook his head. And Mark talked again. 

“My father has always been an ass towards male omegas” Mark muttered. “He… he used to say that real men should… that they shouldn’t want to be with male omegas because that meant that we weren’t manly enough to get a woman. Or that, since in his head male omegas were just men with… weird physiology, that meant that I wasn’t really a man myself if I yearned for something like that. Of course, by the time he started teaching me about male omegas, I was already confused about what a real man even was because I was always punished for being too... alpha or, whatever. Anyway, he tried hard, and I still fell for you, just like that. My parents… had a hard time coming to terms with it, despite not knowing anything about you”

Donghyuck rubbed his back. He didn’t like what he was hearing, but he despised not knowing even more. Mark had held it all in for so long. And Donghyuck had never realized to ask. But that didn’t matter now. He couldn’t change the past so it was useless to dwell on it. All he could do was try to make the future a bit better.

“I _am_ a man with weird physiology”, Donghyuck said quietly, not even a bit of sadness or pain in his voice. Those words no longer hurt him - instead, he owned them and stated that proudly. He was different. And he loved being different. “A whim of nature”

“No you’re not”, Mark shook his head, clearly not sharing his mentality. “You are an omega. You are not something that falls in-between, you are you and that should be the only thing that matters. I hate it that my parents can't see how amazing you are, just because they are blinded by their irrational distaste towards your sub-gender"

"It's okay", Donghyuck leaned his chin on Mark's shoulder. "I don't care"

"But I do", Mark said as he turned his head towards him and tickled Donghyuck's chin absentmindedly. "If they want to have any part in Beom's life, they have to learn to love you too. Not just tolerate, I want them to like you, and I want them to like male omegas. And I'm not going to give in before they do"

There it was. The determination was back in Mark's voice. Donghyuck felt familiar warmth surrounding his body again, as everything was returning to normal. Mark was feeling stronger again, calm and right. He got some hope back, even if it was small. 

It was nice, seeing him back to his own self. Even though Donghyuck doubted that his parents would ever warm up to them and become kind, they were still Mark's parents.

"I'll help you however I can", Donghyuck joined him. "I am irresistible"

Mark laughed lightly.

"I'm so happy that I get to do this with you", he said with a smile. "Although I know that it would make everything more complicated, I secretly hope that Beom could grow up to be an omega like you"

Donghyuck blinked. And Mark finally turned around, so that he could look at him in the eyes without hurting his neck. Donghyuck didn't know what to say, he hadn't expected Mark to have spared a single thought on that. 

"You... you do?"

"Yeah", Mark nodded. "I mean, I would love him whatever he ended up being, alpha, beta... but the mere thought of him growing into this beautiful male omega just like you... I don't know, it drives me crazy. He has your eyes and your complex, he is already like a mini you and that makes me love him even more. And I want my parents to feel the same"

Donghyuck couldn't say exactly what he was feeling. Proud, maybe? He glanced at Beom who was sleeping safe and sound in his crib next to the wall. He had already grown so much. And he would continue doing so. Every day, he was more beautiful, and he resembled them more. His eyes shined, his skin had darkened just a bit and he was so strong. 

Donghyuck didn't know what to say, so he didn't even try using words.

He cupped Mark’s face in his hands and kissed him. Maybe it wasn’t the perfect time but sometimes he just ran out of words to say and wanted to show his feelings differently. Mark answered his kiss willingly, seemingly happy that their conversation moved from heavy words to something lighter. Something more comfortable.

Donghyuck pulled Mark on top of him and fell on the bed. He wrapped his legs around his waist, ran his hands through his hair all while kissing him deeply and slowly. No hunger, just tender emotions, flowing through their bond easier now that they were in physical contact too. The knots in Mark’s back, as well as his mind, seemed to dissolve under Donghyuck’s hands.

If only it were that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think you understand Mark better or worse after this chapter? Or did Mark even need more depth, in your opinion? I always found him kind of difficult to write in this universe, I feel like he lacked some depth so I created him a backstory sometime around the end of Found Ya but never really talked about it before because... ahh, shitty parents, tale as old as time in the fanfic world. But here we are anyway.
> 
> As always remember to leave kudos and if you're up to it, maybe a short comment to let me know what you thought, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter! <3


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